Hummer Foto Feeder™
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2010-08-28
Hummers in Oregon
Hi, I still have a lot of hummers in Roseburg, Oregon, I don't have much problem with bee's as I turn my feeding tubes up so the nector is not right on the cap so they can't get much and the hummers can reach their tongue down into the tube a long ways. It is so easy to refill them with the plastic bottle I got from envirojam and it takes me half the time it used to. So if you haven't gotten one yet I would say you should do it now.
2010-08-22
Hummer News – Vol. 12 – August 2010
Why We Do It All…
Between 7:00 and 8:30 am yesterday morning I luxuriated in hummer activity more varied and constant than I may have ever experienced before here at home. First, when my eyes first opened, I saw a hummer feeding at my second story, bedroom window, and right over my pillow. After she left, I turned and looked down into the yard under my window and immediately spied an active male visiting freshly blossomed weeds I can’t even name.
So, I went out to the yard and, during the next ninety minutes, the reason for the season’s many hours of preparation and maintenance was made abundantly clear. As we approach September, I am guessing that we are beginning to see migrators from the far north begin to pass through again for the first time since early spring because of the increased number of birds exhibiting “curiosity” behavior as they check out flowers, feeders and the rest. I witnessed virtually non-stop visits at all my feeders, as well as lots of visits to the hibiscus, butterfly bushes and the mister. Because of our extended drought conditions, the mister has been especially popular. I returned into the house for breakfast, after my extended and magical hummer meditations, peaceful, refreshed and spiritually uplifted. What better was is there to start the day than that?
Blog Activity
Thanks to the contributions of both old and new members of our hummer family, this blog has some great new entries. Among them are some ideas for managing yellow jackets and wasps, a perennial problem this time of year in many areas. I can say I have tried a couple ideas and am finding great success so far. So, I urge you to check out the recent posts and comments that follow below.
Please remember you are always welcome at this blog as a reader, commenter or full-privileged contributor. I will be happy to invite you as a contributor if you just send me an email so I know you are interested.
May you all also have august, August Hummer experiences!!
Copyright 2010, Merritt Communications, Inc. – All Rights Reserved
Between 7:00 and 8:30 am yesterday morning I luxuriated in hummer activity more varied and constant than I may have ever experienced before here at home. First, when my eyes first opened, I saw a hummer feeding at my second story, bedroom window, and right over my pillow. After she left, I turned and looked down into the yard under my window and immediately spied an active male visiting freshly blossomed weeds I can’t even name.
So, I went out to the yard and, during the next ninety minutes, the reason for the season’s many hours of preparation and maintenance was made abundantly clear. As we approach September, I am guessing that we are beginning to see migrators from the far north begin to pass through again for the first time since early spring because of the increased number of birds exhibiting “curiosity” behavior as they check out flowers, feeders and the rest. I witnessed virtually non-stop visits at all my feeders, as well as lots of visits to the hibiscus, butterfly bushes and the mister. Because of our extended drought conditions, the mister has been especially popular. I returned into the house for breakfast, after my extended and magical hummer meditations, peaceful, refreshed and spiritually uplifted. What better was is there to start the day than that?
Blog Activity
Thanks to the contributions of both old and new members of our hummer family, this blog has some great new entries. Among them are some ideas for managing yellow jackets and wasps, a perennial problem this time of year in many areas. I can say I have tried a couple ideas and am finding great success so far. So, I urge you to check out the recent posts and comments that follow below.
Please remember you are always welcome at this blog as a reader, commenter or full-privileged contributor. I will be happy to invite you as a contributor if you just send me an email so I know you are interested.
May you all also have august, August Hummer experiences!!
Copyright 2010, Merritt Communications, Inc. – All Rights Reserved
2010-08-21
Grafton,WI
Pictures of our FOTOFEEDER in Grafton, WI.
They are in a holding pattern to get to the feeder!
2010-08-18
New Hummer Feeders
Hi folks,
Not long ago, I purchased some of John's hummer feeder refills. Once they arrived, I decided to go ahead and use some 12 gauge copper wire I had from another project and "wire a couple of them up".
 |
| Taken from the outside |
The photos you see here are the result. I decided to put them on our kitchen window to see how soon they discover them.
 |
| Looking out the kitchen window! |
I'm hoping the hummers around here decide they like them as much or better than the old feeders they've been use to:
As the hummers find these and start to drink from them, I'll post some of the photos I get of them.
'Til then, I hope you have a chance to enjoy your own wonderous hummers!
~Rob~
2010-08-16
Bees and Wasps!
It is now the height of hummer around my area and unfortunately the bees and wasps are keeping my babies away. So I decided to move the main pole with my hummers favorites feeders and about 15 feet away put a huge hanging bowl of the sugar mixture open and all the bees and wasps have gone there for the free for all leaving the feeders alone for now. I will update in about a week to let you know how this works. As for the yellow jacket traps, save your money the bowl trick seems to work better. Let me know if any of you have other ideas.
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The bowl of yellow jacket nectar...
Hummer News – Vol. 11 – Footnotes - August 2010
Hold the Salt!!!
There are some ideas that are really good ideas and then, there are the ideas that only seem like very good ideas at the time. I wrote about my “Ant Moat Solution” for more traditional hanging hummer feeders the last time, when I suggested using strongly saline water in the moats to discourage small birds from emptying the reservoir by drinking the water. Well, my old days in the chemistry labs should have raised a red flag, but observation has now filled in where initial recollection failed me. Let’s see, salt (NaCl) and copper (Cu)….what does that sound like? Well, together they create an electric current and the interaction between the two, while not dangerous, is certainly corrosive – especially if your water pH is on the acidic side. So, after a heavy rain washed some of the saline out of the reservoirs to drip down the copper hanging feeders, I noticed the start of discoloration on my copper. Again, unless it was very heavy saline for a long time, no structural damage would occur. However, the appearance of the discolored copper is less than desirable. So, for now, I am going to try a very weak saline and see if it still discourages the birds, but won’t continue the discoloration. If not, back to water and diligence to ensure the reservoirs don’t go dry.
Another problem with my described ant moats was using wire coat hangers for the hanging hooks. Of course, steel is also subject to corrosion and would weaken quickly in the constant saline bath of the reservoir. So, if you do want to try to use salt – which poses no issues for glass or plastic feeders, I would recommend using plastic covered wire or pure plastic for the hanging hooks.
A long time Foto Feeder™ user in CA wrote to me suggesting an alternative to ant moats all-together. Tanglefoot® is a product that is sold in many agricultural shops that discourages the ants with a very sticky physical barrier. It comes in tubes like caulking and can be spread over the path ants must follow to get to the feeder. I bought some a few years back, but never applied it because another friend and Tanglefoot user told me it is quite a challenge to keep the sticky stuff only where you want it. But, I guess with extreme caution, it must work, as it is often suggested in the literature I have read on deterring ants. As my friend wrote from CA, it is very important to be sure it is not on any surface where the hummers might land, as it would get on their feet and be difficult for them to remove. I would be very interested to hear any other interesting solutions you might have come up with
Blog
Please remember you are always welcome at the blog as a reader or contributor. I will be happy to include you as a contributor if you just send me an email so I know you are interested.
Happy Hummer August everyone!!
Please let me know if you wish to be removed from this hummer mailing list and I will do so immediately
Copyright 2010, Merritt Communications, Inc. – All Rights Reserved
There are some ideas that are really good ideas and then, there are the ideas that only seem like very good ideas at the time. I wrote about my “Ant Moat Solution” for more traditional hanging hummer feeders the last time, when I suggested using strongly saline water in the moats to discourage small birds from emptying the reservoir by drinking the water. Well, my old days in the chemistry labs should have raised a red flag, but observation has now filled in where initial recollection failed me. Let’s see, salt (NaCl) and copper (Cu)….what does that sound like? Well, together they create an electric current and the interaction between the two, while not dangerous, is certainly corrosive – especially if your water pH is on the acidic side. So, after a heavy rain washed some of the saline out of the reservoirs to drip down the copper hanging feeders, I noticed the start of discoloration on my copper. Again, unless it was very heavy saline for a long time, no structural damage would occur. However, the appearance of the discolored copper is less than desirable. So, for now, I am going to try a very weak saline and see if it still discourages the birds, but won’t continue the discoloration. If not, back to water and diligence to ensure the reservoirs don’t go dry.
Another problem with my described ant moats was using wire coat hangers for the hanging hooks. Of course, steel is also subject to corrosion and would weaken quickly in the constant saline bath of the reservoir. So, if you do want to try to use salt – which poses no issues for glass or plastic feeders, I would recommend using plastic covered wire or pure plastic for the hanging hooks.
A long time Foto Feeder™ user in CA wrote to me suggesting an alternative to ant moats all-together. Tanglefoot® is a product that is sold in many agricultural shops that discourages the ants with a very sticky physical barrier. It comes in tubes like caulking and can be spread over the path ants must follow to get to the feeder. I bought some a few years back, but never applied it because another friend and Tanglefoot user told me it is quite a challenge to keep the sticky stuff only where you want it. But, I guess with extreme caution, it must work, as it is often suggested in the literature I have read on deterring ants. As my friend wrote from CA, it is very important to be sure it is not on any surface where the hummers might land, as it would get on their feet and be difficult for them to remove. I would be very interested to hear any other interesting solutions you might have come up with
Blog
Please remember you are always welcome at the blog as a reader or contributor. I will be happy to include you as a contributor if you just send me an email so I know you are interested.
Happy Hummer August everyone!!
Please let me know if you wish to be removed from this hummer mailing list and I will do so immediately
Copyright 2010, Merritt Communications, Inc. – All Rights Reserved
2010-08-04
Harold, the Handsome, Hummer Stik™ Visitor in Danbury, CT
I was delighted to receive these wonderful shots of Harold, who is a regular visitor at the Hummer Stiks™ deployed by Sue, a friend and repeat customer from Danbury, CT. Best yet, she allowed me to use one of her shots of Harold to vastly improve my listing for these feeders at eBay. The link above will take you there to see if you'd like. A big fat "Thank You" to Sue and, of course, Harold!!
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