Hummingbirds are starting to migrate south right now, or they will be thinking about it really soon.  End of August beginning of September, according to Hummingbirds.net , is when they start to notice that the days are getting shorter and they begin to get an overwhelming urge to fly south and not stop.

Right now at the hummingbird feeder, I am starting to notice sporadic use.  The other day, I noticed 4 fighting over it from time to time.   The last few days have been hit or miss.  Last year, I took my feeder down right away as soon as I noticed that the birds were no longer around, but according to Hummingbirds.net I am supposed to leave it up so the birds coming from Canada have something to eat along the way.  Also, this will invite them to stop again next year.

This year has been especially busy for my hummingbird feeder.  It wasn’t common, but a few times  I would see four mostly there were just two or three.   Lots and lots of refills for the feeder.  It was also a job this year keeping the wasps away.

I believe, the most important tips to remember when feeding hummers is to keep your feeder clean and replace the nectar ever few days whether it is gone or not.  Especially in warm weather, the solution goes bad quickly.  I mentioned this in my first humming-bird post, I make my solution and all it is is 4 parts water to 1 part sugar.  Warm the water and sugar up until the sugar dissolves and let it cool.  I fill the feeder with about 1/2 cup of solution and keep the rest in the fridge.  Every few days I pour out what is left in the feeder and fill with another 1/2 cup.  I have a new batch in the fridge and may not use it up this season depending on my humming-bird traffic.  Whatever I don’t use I will throw in the freezer until next season.

It’s been fun watching the hummingbirds this year.  I think next year I will graduate to two feeders.  We will see.  It’s almost too much fun to think about right now.

The Farm Wife