Hi Ken, and welcome to the hummingbird fanatics club. If you have hummer-friendly plants and hand feeders with fresh nectar, with time and patience you will get hummingbirds to come regularly. The tough part is the patience! =)

Even now hummers will come to your feeders once they find them. In fact, you'll be glad for the time and effort this year when next year the same hummers return to your feeders and bring friends!

You want to make sure your feeders have red colored feeding ports, as it will attract the hummers faster (but no red colored sugar water--it's not necessary and may actually harm the birds). Keep it clean and the nectar fresh, and then just wait and watch. It's very likely that your hummer has not disappeared, and you will eventually see it again at your feeder. Good luck!

Hi Ken

Patience is the key in trying to first lure them to your yard but keep refreshing the nectar every couple of days when its hot. Normally the mix is 1:4 sugar to water but I would go 1:3 till you get them coming to your feeders. Heres a link that will give you some good ideas for the right hummer plants , if not this year , then next.
P.S. NO COLORED WATER!

Here is a link that might be useful: hummer attracting plants

Thanks mbuckmaster and hummersteve!

Yea... I guess I am a little anxious. :c) It was a blow to see them disappear as it was fun watching them.

I have been changing the nectar every three days. The feeders are not in the sun other than maybe 2 hours in the extreme AM. How does one know when the mixture is spoiled? So far the nectar has been as clear as it was when I put it in and there is no mold on the feeders. I am using pure cane sugar at the 1 part sugar to 3 parts water ratio, boiled, till they find it. Then I will go to the 4 or 5 parts to the water.

I bought a Droll Yankee window feeder. It is clear with red ports. I added a few red ribbons to the back to try and get their attention. I put a Perky Pet on a bar right in the flower section of the Monarda. This feeder has a small red base and a yellow bee guard, but I figured that since it is right in the middle of the mass of red flowers the chances are good that they will find this first.

What do you guys do when you go away for a week, not that I do that often. Do you find someone to change and clean your feeders?

Ken

It can be tough to see when the nectar is spoiled. It gets cloudy in that you can see swirls in the sugar water when you agitate it. Since it can be a little tough to tell, it's best to just take the 2-3 day rule as gospel and change regardless.

I haven't tried the window feeder although it sounds neat. And the Perky Pet is a classic feeder, so you should have good luck with it eventually. I've switched to basin style feeders, which are a snap to clean and are ant and bee/wasp proof. The Hummzinger brand by Aspects is my choice. But you'll be fine with what you have, and are following all the best procedures to attract them as quickly as possible. You might also try some hanging baskets or containers full of hummer plants near the feeders. Salvia, pentas, nepeta, and monarda are all good choices to increase your chances. Red or pink varieties are even better.

I have a month long vacation here in a couple of weeks, and I can't find anyone to clean my feeders. With sadness, I'll take them down when I leave and trust the hummers will forgive me. If it was only a week, I might hope for the best and leave them up, but even that would be a stretch. You can kill a hummingbird with spoiled nectar, especially if it's a feeder they have come to trust. So I'll hang a basket of mixed annuals in the feeders' places, and get the feeders back on track when I'm back in town. Not optimal, but they'll survive.

Ken---1 week of being gone is not so bad. You wouldnt have any worries if you had hummers coming to your yard regular. Hopefully you would have a large feeder you could fill full or some good flowers to keep them coming back. Usually I dont fill large feeders full, since I change them every couple of days, but you do what you have to.

all three are different brand of window feeder
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found this window suction apparatus at walmart to make the middle feeder a window feeder , its the hummers fav window
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Thanks once again mbuckmaster and hummersteve.

I have a large growth of Monarda, and some butterfly bushes, and other plants that are not as Hummer friendly. The Monarda is what they were visiting, but that will be gone in a week or two. Hopefully the feeders will attract them back and keep them around. The hummers were not here but for just a day or two before they disappeared. They were here at all times of the day for those two days. I will keep up with the feeders.

Those are nice window feeders. The one I have only holds a cup of liquid. If the hummers come back I will look into one of those you posted. The Hummzinger looks great too. Very similiar to the Droll Yankee, thought the DY does not have the ant moat.

Not sure about you guys, but this year I have had no butterflies at my garden. In previous years I had tons everyday. :c(

Ken

The butterfly people over in that forum will better inform you about that, but I've had a lot of success with swallowtails because of a profusion of spicebush in my woods (lindera benzoin), which is a host plant for them. And the hummer plantings attract them for me too. I've heard butterfly weed and other plants will guarantee you butterflies...but I don't know too much about it.

Wasn't sure if I should start a new thread or not, but I guess I will post it here because of the history.

I have to say that I am getting discouraged. Before the feeder I saw hummingbirds in my garden. Since I put the feeders out, four weeks ago, I have not seen one!

I know I need to be patient, but changing the nectar as often as I do I am beginning to get the desire to take them down. :c(

Anyway... just needed to vent.

Thanks!

Ken