Hummingbird Central hint

Hummingbirds at the feeder

Juvenile or female hummingbird at feeder

We feel triumphant. For several years we have been luring and feeding hummingbirds. The hummingbirds and the wonder they embody fascinate both of us. I started quite a few years back with little or no progress. I followed the instructions on the hummingbird feeders, and nothing ever progressed from just that....filled hummingbird feeders waiting for some customers. I shared my fascination of these miraculous little creatures with many people I met, but no one seemed to have much more insight about how to draw them closer than I did.

Mature male hummingbird, with ruby throat, sitting after dinner

Our brother in law shared our desire to create a feeding station, he too was trying lots of solutions. None of the solutions were very effective. The first step towards success came when my brother in law encountered swarms of hummers at the feeders set up by a park ranger in our county. That made us know the hummers were there, so there had to be some secrets to be learned as to how to build a colony of hummers coming to the feeder. We often have hummingbird dogfights at our window.

                                                        The hint the park ranger gave Jeff, led us to some success. That success has gradually led to the many many hummingbirds we now have coming to our feeders daily. The park ranger's hint was to be sure to put the feeders out very early in the spring. Putting them out early will let the hummers know that food will be available in that area for the duration of the summer. It is a huge commitment to do this. You can not stop feeding them once you have started, or you will lose your community of hummers. If you go on vacation, please ask a neighbor to check your feeders and to clean and refill as necessary. They will commit to you, if you commit to them. It is unquestionably a relationship, even if you don't think of it that way...it is! Being an early reliable food source, is step number one to creating your feeding community.  Check back for more pointers and some great photos.