Well they're gone....my hummers, all I have now are the damn bees.

[a kennedy]

[Donkees]

1. There usually are stragglers, the vulnerable ones and the late nestlings ...

These late nestlings are in NYC.


Photo: Lotus Winnie Lee

[nature-lover]

2. Yellow flowers on the hummingbird feeders attract bees and wasps.

Hummingbird feeders are a great way to attract these little birds to your yard. Place them where you can see them and you'll be entertained by their antics. There's a variety of feeders on the market, some are red, or clear. Some feeders have little yellow "flowers' on them for feeding ports. The yellow color attracts bees and wasps so remove those or paint them red before putting your feeders out in the Spring to avoid getting lots of the bees in the feeders.

https://www.extension.iastate.edu/linn/hummingbirds-and-how-attract-them#:~:text=Some%20feeders%20have%20little%20yellow,the%20bees%20in%20the%20feeders.

This was news to me!

[patphil]

3. I still have my feeder up for stragglers. The locals have been gone for 2 weeks, but I still see one nearly every day.

That's going to end very soon though, as the overnight temperatures drop and the local sources of nectar dry up.
It's sad to see them go each year.
The feeders right outside the kitchen window, and I watch them as I sit at the kitchen table.
I take great pleasure in seeing them come to feed, and watch the territorial disputes for control of the feeder.
When they're gone, so is summer.

[a kennedy]

5. Yah, my week or so straggler hasn't been here now since yesterday. It was always here early in the morning.

Now, nothing….the main bunch of about 6 or so hummers have been gone like yours for a couple weeks…….my lone straggles gone now.

[Marthe48]

4. I have more trouble with sugar ants

I put out a feeder this year, toward the end of summer, near my canna lilies. I was seeing hummingbirds by the blossoms almost daily. I put the feeder on a shepherd's hook. It took about 2 weeks for the ants to find it. I tried hanging it in another place near the cannas, and the ants found it faster. I change and clean it every 4 days, probably almost done for this season. Maybe next year, I'll hang a dispenser low to the ground that the ants find first, and they'll leave the hummingbird feeder alone.

[efhmc]

8. Ant moats work well.

[Marthe48]

9. I knew there was something

My husband hung feeders when he was alive. He got a moat and it did a good job with the ants. I forgot about that. I continued for awhile after he passed away, but wasn't getting any customers I learned that my neighbors had several feeders and a large bed of cannas, so I stopped for awhile.

Thanks for the reminder!

[Donkees]

6. Just met a male Hummingbird straggler a few minutes ago as I was watering, buzzed to say hello :)

[1WorldHope]

7. Don't damn the Bees pleeze☺️