@mellielong I find it easier to photograph the hummers but watching where they perch after hitting the feeder. I then set up within zooming range of my camera and tripod and shoot photos until I get some good ones. I am still learning but have had some limited success. Here is a little female that just posed for me beautifully last summer. I have posted some of the photos before in the hummingbird thread.

Nice hummer shots, Dave! Looks like you have a sweet little female there! I only ever see males ....

Beautiful, Dave! I also bought a remote shutter release for my camera, so that should come in extra handy. I won't even have to move to get a picture!

I seem to have way more males here, too. And, they are attack males. Too many fights for me, but they are beautiful birds.

My hummingbirds always seem to go up in the oak trees to perch and even my zoom can't get a picture that high up. After the one fed today, I followed it with my eyes up to the oak and tried to get a picture even if it was just the shadow outline of its body. But then it moved again! Frustrating little birds! Some of my porterweed is just starting to bloom and the hummingbirds love that stuff so maybe I'll get a lucky shot one of these days.

I'm too lazy to change the feeder nectar and I hear you have to do it pretty often in Florida because it's so darn hot. My Grandma has feeders in WV and I can sit on her porch and just watch them feed. And get pictures! The males up there are very territorial. I watch them chase each other off the feeder and back into the trees. Her trees are short, though so I can still usually see the birds. She's got a lot of those finches, as well. I forget what kind of seed she buys for them.

I'm a butterfly person, as you guys know. But Grandma has always been a hummingbird person and likes to collect things with them on it. And her mother loved owls and collected owl things. My great-grandmother made me this owl thing I'll have to take a picture of for you guys. She crocheted a piece that fits over a mason jar and makes it look like an owl. It has wings and those little tufts on its head and glass beads for eyes. I've had it since I was about three but my parents kept it in the china cabinet until I was old enough to keep it for myself. So hummingbirds always make me think of my grandma and owls make me think of my great-grandma. My aunt loves birds too, but I'll have to ask if she has a favorite. She collects chicken things but I think she probably has a more exciting favorite bird.

Melanie, I get 2 weeks out of my nectar.

Ann - "2 weeks out of my nectar????" How is that?

Mine starts showing spoiling (clouding) after 3-4 days. I even boil mine to help it stay good longer, but in the heat.... it goes bad rather quickly. It will keep in the refrigerator for 2 weeks when I boil it, so I don't have to make a new batch each time I clean and refill the feeders.

http://www.rubythroat.org/Feed...

I get 2 weeks before mine spoils. I boil mine too.

Ann - Do you have your feeders out for two weeks before changing the sugar water mix in the actual feeder?

Ann, that is too long to keep the syrup in the feeder, a week should be max.

I fill my feeders with just enough to get through a few days at a time. I don't remember ever filling them up all the way, unless there is a large amount of feeding going on. It goes bad too fast when it gets hot, so it is just wasted.

beckygardener said:Ann - Do you have your feeders out for two weeks before changing the sugar water mix in the actual feeder?

Yes, I do. Sometimes in the height of summer they won't last that long. Mine are all in part shade. I keep a close eye on them for any signs of mold or stank.

I change mine every 2-3 days during the summer. It starts to get a little cloudy at that time. But mostly I get hummers in Winter, so changing them every 3-4 days. After that, I see the water color go from clear to cloudy. I can't imagine going for 2 weeks in FL. That really surprises me. If the water is starting to look cloudy, it is going bad. Sugar water spoils really quickly because of bacteria growth. The heat and humidity here where I live in central FL seem to speed that process up.

I know once a feeder goes bad, the hummers won't come to them anymore during that season. That happened to a friend who forgot about her feeder for over a week. She didn't have any hummers at her feeder for the rest of the season. They did use her flowers though. But that was a rare sighting because they only linger at flowers for a few seconds, instead of perching on her feeder to drink.

Ann - You must have yours in a very shady, cold spot! You are the only person I know who leaves them out unchanged that long. Do you get lots activity at that feeder?

I have 3 feeders & get lots of activity at all 3. they are constantly fighting & guarding what they consider "their" feeder. Now when the season is in full swing I won't get 2 weeks b/c they suck them dry (or very low) in 7 days or so. I watch for the cloudiness & change when I see it. No, they are not in a whole lot of shade but they get some shade during the day. The one out back gets the least shade & it goes bad fastest but it also gets sucked up the quickest even though I actually "see" the one out the kitchen window getting more use but I'm in the kitchen a LOT.

I have a friend near Montgomery, Al. who has those great big feeders & hers do get cloudy & believe me, she doesn't have any problems with them not using her feeders.

I do wonder if there is a big difference b/c we have so much less humidity here than anywhere else in Fl. that I personally know of. Maybe that makes a difference. I don't know. Okay, here's an example ---- I put my feeders out on the 3rd of this month & have been checking them every day. They are just today starting to get a bit of a haze so I will change them. So that's 18 days that they lasted. You have to remember too, that we have cool nights yet and our daytime highs haven't been all that bad yet -- well, it's been getting hot just the past few days but it doesn't *begin* the day hot like where you are Becky. We *get* hot for a few hours not the whole day.

I saw a new bird this morning, a Chestnut-backed Chickadee, a very pretty little bird, it was in the spruce tree, sadly I didn't have time to get a photo, I got a good look with the binoculars though. I hope it comes back.

It is so exciting seeing a new bird! I've had lots of excitement lately!

It IS exciting to see a new bird. Yay Margaret!!!!!!!

A very nice way to start the day.

One of our favorite birds is the pileated woodpecker. Once in a awhile I manage to get a picture, usually not a good one, for it's very hard to get close and my little camera doesn't zoom out enough. However, these might be worth a look.









The rotting tree stumps in our yard are what pulls them in, and I can tell you that the woodpeckers are doing a great job of taking these out. I am always amazed at how much they are chiseling out, but these are big birds, and hearing them peck away is almost like listening to a jackhammer.

Very nice, Avedon!!

Great job Avedon! I find them hard to capture too, they move pretty quickly around the tree and from tree to tree.