AlexInBC

They're back I'm sure I'll never grow tired of watching them

Simon Legree

You and me both !! Magic flying machines. Have a look at my gallery. There are a couple of pictures of them there.

AlexInBC

Haven't got to them yet (wow there's a lot of pics in there ) but got to the ones of the opuntia cactus - my tortoises would mug you for a pad or two of that!

For anyone who wants to see Simon's hummingbird pics - go straight to page 17. (No offence - they're all good photos, but rather a lot to page through if you just want to look at the cute birdies!)

Simon Legree

Just look at the bottom of the first page. There are some not in an album.

AlexInBC

Can't see them...? If I go to: http://britishexpats.com/photopost/s...p?ppuser=99504 (link under your name) I just get the first page of 12 out of 400 odd photos...

Simon Legree

Click on the Photo Gallery button at the top of this page then type my name in the search box at top right and click on that. It should get you there. Enjoy.

G77

Any tips for attracting them? Got a feeder and some nectar the other day, been on a window that's not exposed to the sun now since Sunday, but no sign as yet.... Thinking of moving it to a sunnier window...

Simon Legree

Maybe it's a tad early in your part of the world. They don't get here until mid May. Red is a big attraction them. Red feeders and red flowers. Once they find you they will keep visiting. Don't waste money on nectar. Make you own. Sugar and water and boil it down until it starts to thicken. Bingo. They are here all summer, well mid May to early September, and in Arizona all winter. I get a double dose.

AlexInBC

I just have feeders all over the place (6 of them) and at the height of the summer there's usually 4 hummers at each feeder, constantly, with others waiting their turn!

I think you would be better getting another feeder than moving the one you have because once they arrive, they'll be there in huge numbers (assuming you get the quantities that we see here in BC Rockies?)

Just seen Simon's post. Yes, definitely don't buy nectar. You just need 4 parts boiled water to 1 part granulated sugar. We go through it so quickly that I make it with a minimum of 2 litres of water at a time, and that requires 500ml vol of sugar.

G77

There was plenty buzzing around at the local nature centre when we arrived in September and all of the shops seem to sell feeders etc, so we're assuming they're relatively common here. We may be just a touch too early though, but with it being seriously hot last weekend, I got the feeder out anyway.

Is there any rules on feeder placement - i.e. high up, low down etc? Or are they not fussy?

Simon Legree

Just remember that they migrate annually to and from Central and South America. They don't seem to be fussy about feeder location.

G77

We're about as south as you can get, so they can't be too far away

AlexInBC

Totally not fussy in our experience. We just make sure to not have them right in front of a window that could reflect the mountains and confuse them, and as far from our cats' potential hiding spots as possible. Most of our feeders are about 6' off the ground, just for convenience of refilling them without needing to stand on anything to get them down. If they're in full sun, I would clean them out and refill them with fresh nectar on a regular basis, or I imagine you could end up with drunk hummingbirds, LOL!

G77

Looks like they've already started arriving around here :-

http://www.hummingbirds.net/map.html

Do the feeders attract other flying nasties like wasps etc?

AlexInBC

Yes - unfortunately they do a bit...

But these guys are worth it: http://www.lazydogacres.com/hummingbirds.htm