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SheltieLover

(57,073 posts)
Sat Aug 15, 2020, 12:02 PM Aug 2020

Hummingbird feeder question

Hi All,

So, overnight, my hummingbird feeder was vandalized. Taken from where it was hanging & thrown. All but 1 of the little yellow plastic flowers that surround the feeding holes were stolen (or thrown somewhere).

Will they still eat? TYIA!

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Hummingbird feeder question (Original Post) SheltieLover Aug 2020 OP
Yes,just clean up the Wellstone ruled Aug 2020 #1
Yaaaaaay! SheltieLover Aug 2020 #3
Quaint fact about Hummers. Wellstone ruled Aug 2020 #6
Your Alpha is most likely the second generation offspring of the original, assuming he's a ruby Atticus Aug 2020 #9
Idk which which one itt is SheltieLover Aug 2020 #13
No he is a Green Back Wellstone ruled Aug 2020 #14
Tyvm! SheltieLover Aug 2020 #15
Wow! That is impressive SheltieLover Aug 2020 #12
It's a tad over a 100 right now Wellstone ruled Aug 2020 #29
Wow! SheltieLover Aug 2020 #30
It could be a raccoon. Our feeders were torn apart by a black bear!! LakeArenal Aug 2020 #7
Could be, but would they want just sugar water? SheltieLover Aug 2020 #16
The neighbor did. She called but by the time the bear had been through our yard. LakeArenal Aug 2020 #17
Wow! SheltieLover Aug 2020 #19
Try to find feeders with little perches LakeArenal Aug 2020 #20
Mine has perches SheltieLover Aug 2020 #22
I would Rebl2 Aug 2020 #33
Ty! SheltieLover Aug 2020 #34
We use small Rebl2 Aug 2020 #35
Ty! SheltieLover Aug 2020 #36
I've made my regular feeders difficult for squirrels redstateblues Aug 2020 #5
They are magical! SheltieLover Aug 2020 #11
Squirrel proofing... consider_this Aug 2020 #37
My guess is yes Nictuku Aug 2020 #2
I already have rehung it SheltieLover Aug 2020 #4
It always takes our hummies time to accept any changes anyway LakeArenal Aug 2020 #18
Ok! Ty! SheltieLover Aug 2020 #21
Yay. Then it's a good day❣️ LakeArenal Aug 2020 #23
Absolutely. We used to have that type of feeder, but the yellow inserts were easy to Atticus Aug 2020 #8
Ty, Atticus! SheltieLover Aug 2020 #10
You might find this interesting and helpful, especially in spring: Atticus Aug 2020 #25
Tyvm! SheltieLover Aug 2020 #28
This message was self-deleted by its author Atticus Aug 2020 #24
FWIW A reason we moved to Costa Rica is there are 75 varieties of hummingbirds here. LakeArenal Aug 2020 #26
Wow! SheltieLover Aug 2020 #27
Every evening we walk to the end of our mountain and spend an hour bird watching. LakeArenal Aug 2020 #31
Awesome! SheltieLover Aug 2020 #32
 

Wellstone ruled

(34,661 posts)
1. Yes,just clean up the
Sat Aug 15, 2020, 12:06 PM
Aug 2020

remaining part and refill with fresh sugar water and away you go. Get yourself the Polly Perk feeders on Amazon,they do the best job.

SheltieLover

(57,073 posts)
3. Yaaaaaay!
Sat Aug 15, 2020, 12:09 PM
Aug 2020

Tyvm, Wellstone!

I didn't want to have to risk my life going out to store...

Do you have a rec for a reasonable seed feeder? I had a nice smallish cedar feeder that was thrown & broken a few days ago.

Ps - I hate living in a red hellhole. Clueless which redneck might have done this.

 

Wellstone ruled

(34,661 posts)
6. Quaint fact about Hummers.
Sat Aug 15, 2020, 12:17 PM
Aug 2020

they remember every source of food they have ever visited. And if you have a Alpha Female or a Male visiting your feeder,they oft times will battle with other Hummers for the exclusive rights to that feeder.

We have two feeders going. Got a Alpha male protecting the one on the Patio,dude has been here almost a decade,and he controls that feeder. Only members of his Harem are allowed. Our Front Feeder,that is wide open to all comers. The Female that used to control that feeder flew into the front door glass and she did not survive. Since then,Community feeder.

Atticus

(15,124 posts)
9. Your Alpha is most likely the second generation offspring of the original, assuming he's a ruby
Sat Aug 15, 2020, 12:24 PM
Aug 2020

throated. Life expectancy is 3 to 5 years.

SheltieLover

(57,073 posts)
13. Idk which which one itt is
Sat Aug 15, 2020, 12:38 PM
Aug 2020

I'm new to birdfeeding in this area & have 't learned to identify them yet.

Tyvm for sharing!

 

Wellstone ruled

(34,661 posts)
14. No he is a Green Back
Sat Aug 15, 2020, 12:39 PM
Aug 2020

and the little bugger will mess with you if his feeder sugar water starts to sour . Or once the level is down near the bottom of the bottle. Only time we see Rubies is early spring or late September. We had one stay last Winter.

Our other Hummer's are Transient bright purple breasted ,can't remeber the name,Hummers that frequent the Joshua trees as well as the Desert Poppies. They tend to pop in and out with the high heat we are in now usually just about dark.

Right now,the Hummers are feeding during the Nighttime,we have landscape lighting that illuminates both feeders.



SheltieLover

(57,073 posts)
15. Tyvm!
Sat Aug 15, 2020, 12:43 PM
Aug 2020

There are some that have sort of a greenish sheen to their feathers. Lol

I have only 1 small window overlooking deck in back where feeders are. I could move them to front of house, but chose the back so as not to attract attention / vandalism. 😏

I will have to research when to pull feeders so as to not disrupt their migration patterns.

Ty!

SheltieLover

(57,073 posts)
12. Wow! That is impressive
Sat Aug 15, 2020, 12:36 PM
Aug 2020

That they can recall each food source! 😳

I must have some alphas then. Lol

I was shocked to see them running each other off from the feeder. I think I need to get a bunch more feeders!

So do the alphas "guard" the feeder all day?

This is all new to me. Lol

Ty for sharing!

 

Wellstone ruled

(34,661 posts)
29. It's a tad over a 100 right now
Sat Aug 15, 2020, 01:34 PM
Aug 2020

and the Alpha is setting on a flower stem about 10 feet from his feeder. every few minutes he will try and chase others away. Only he and his Harem seem to be allowed.

Some asked about species,we have Calliope,Anne's,Broad-tail,black chins,and several Lucifer's,which are truly stunning when the sun hits them. Again,most stay year around. They know where the feeders are as well as the water fountain which is a hoot to watch Hummers in splattering water.

SheltieLover

(57,073 posts)
30. Wow!
Sat Aug 15, 2020, 01:39 PM
Aug 2020

Possessive guy, hu?

Do you know how far from 1st feeder I should put others? Will same alpha try to control them all?
Ty again for sharing!

LakeArenal

(28,729 posts)
7. It could be a raccoon. Our feeders were torn apart by a black bear!!
Sat Aug 15, 2020, 12:18 PM
Aug 2020

Turned over a metal poll with buried concrete holder.


This is my fav. Sold on amazon. Search UFO shaped humming bird feeder. No yellow flowers at all. (Oops sent the wrong one)

SheltieLover

(57,073 posts)
16. Could be, but would they want just sugar water?
Sat Aug 15, 2020, 12:46 PM
Aug 2020

I usually put dog food out back for them & the sweet little possum.

Ty! I will look into the UFO feeder.

Wow! Did you see the bear tear it apart? 😳

LakeArenal

(28,729 posts)
17. The neighbor did. She called but by the time the bear had been through our yard.
Sat Aug 15, 2020, 12:49 PM
Aug 2020

One feeder was on our deck! 😳😫

SheltieLover

(57,073 posts)
22. Mine has perches
Sat Aug 15, 2020, 12:54 PM
Aug 2020

Does my heart good to see their busy little wings rest, even if for just a few seconds. Ty!

Rebl2

(13,311 posts)
33. I would
Sat Aug 15, 2020, 05:16 PM
Aug 2020

guess a raccoon did this. They have destroyed some of my bird feeders. When I had a hummingbird feeder hanging from my deck they would climb up and drink the sugary nectar. Have caught them doing so. Squirrels can be quite destructive too. So are deer. Had a hanging tray feeder and saw a buck get his antlers hung up in the plastic hanger. That kind of scared me because I sure didn’t want to have the deer running around with it hanging from his antlers. So don’t use those anymore. By the way I live in a suburb, but there are woods across the street and we get all kinds of wildlife-even those nasty rednecks. They are the worst 😖

Rebl2

(13,311 posts)
35. We use small
Sat Aug 15, 2020, 05:45 PM
Aug 2020

tube feeders for hummingbirds and they hang from a shepherds hook. Nobody seems to bother them. We use glass jar feeders for bird seed and also hang from a shepherds hook. The deer sometimes come up and manage to get seed from them by tipping the jar a bit, but at least, so far they haven’t destroyed them.

redstateblues

(10,565 posts)
5. I've made my regular feeders difficult for squirrels
Sat Aug 15, 2020, 12:13 PM
Aug 2020

So they go after one of my hummingbird stations. Sometimes I bring that one into the garage for the night as it’s easier than putting it all back together. The Hummingbirds have been coming around a lot. They are so magical!

Nictuku

(3,571 posts)
2. My guess is yes
Sat Aug 15, 2020, 12:07 PM
Aug 2020

Unless the flowers kept the sugar water from flowing out. If you hang it in the same spot they are used to, there is one way to find out.

SheltieLover

(57,073 posts)
4. I already have rehung it
Sat Aug 15, 2020, 12:11 PM
Aug 2020

I can only see it through one small window & can't stand there to watch if they are feeding. I look periodically, but haven't seen any yet.

Ty!

SheltieLover

(57,073 posts)
21. Ok! Ty!
Sat Aug 15, 2020, 12:53 PM
Aug 2020

They must be starving then because when I first hung it a few weeks ago they were on it within an hour or so.

The cedar seed feeder took a lot longer. About 3 days for birds to go near it initially.

Now that I've rehung it, they are all happily feeding! 😁

Atticus

(15,124 posts)
8. Absolutely. We used to have that type of feeder, but the yellow inserts were easy to
Sat Aug 15, 2020, 12:18 PM
Aug 2020

lose. The eight feeders we have up now have solid red bases with just little 3D "blooms" molded right into the base.

I doubt you'll lose any hummers.

Response to Atticus (Reply #8)

LakeArenal

(28,729 posts)
26. FWIW A reason we moved to Costa Rica is there are 75 varieties of hummingbirds here.
Sat Aug 15, 2020, 01:04 PM
Aug 2020

Also Toucans and other really cosmic birds

SheltieLover

(57,073 posts)
27. Wow!
Sat Aug 15, 2020, 01:25 PM
Aug 2020

I didn't know there were so many varieties!

I've read that CR has more bird species than anywhere! 😍

Lucky you!!!

LakeArenal

(28,729 posts)
31. Every evening we walk to the end of our mountain and spend an hour bird watching.
Sat Aug 15, 2020, 01:53 PM
Aug 2020

Rarely are we disappointed.

PS. So VERY lucky. 🍀

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