Birders
Related: About this forumIs there any way to estimate how many hummers are visiting a feeder by the amount
of nectar being consumed? I hung a small feeder (12 oz. capacity) at work a few weeks ago that I can see from my desk. Our office is located on an old army base and there is a lot of open country with lots of wildlife. Wow! I have seen as many as 7 hummers at a time in a feeding frenzy around this one little 3 tube feeder and it takes about 24 hours for them to empty it. There is constant traffic at the feeder any usually 2 or 3 waiting in the bushes for their turn. I'm feeding a 4 to 1 solution of sugar water. I'm just curious as to how many birds I'm feeding. They all appear to be Ruby Throated and mostly female. They are just amazing to watch.
NCarolinawoman
(2,825 posts)put one or two more feeders out there.
I like the kind with perches so they get a chance to rest.
Arkansas Granny
(31,532 posts)so they have lots of resting places. You can sometimes spot 2-3 of them preening or just waiting their turn. I'm considering another feeder.
Arkansas Granny
(31,532 posts)Hummingbird experts Nancy Newfield and Bob and Martha Sargent came up with a formula whereby you count the number of hummingbirds you see at one time at your feeders and multiply this number by six to determine how many birds are visiting your feeders. They arrived at this number based on years of banding and color-marking hummingbirds at feeders.
So, it appears that I could have from 42 - 48 different birds visiting my feeder. I've been seeing 4 or 5 at a time on a regular basis. It reminds you of those diagrams you see of the flight patterns of planes when they are circling the airport and waiting to land.
NCarolinawoman
(2,825 posts)I'm going to send the link you posted to a couple of friends who I know would like to see this. Thanks!
shenmue
(38,506 posts)locks
(2,012 posts)in the foothills and mountains there are 10-20 hummers at the same time around the feeders and don't mind if people are close by. We usually have a lot more ruby-throats but when a male rufous comes he is much more "feisty" and aggressive, sits on a branch nearby, and tries to scare the ruby-throats away from the feeder. It seems as if the same hummers come to the same feeders year after year (could be their babies I suppose) and they migrate individually. Audubon says to put the feeders out early and leave them up into the fall. The rufous migrates from Mexico to Alaska and back in one season!
Arkansas Granny
(31,532 posts)there won't be such a bottleneck. The one that's up now holds 12 Oz. and it doesn't last all day.