Bubba Birds

These photos were taken yesterday through my studio window.

This "Bubba Bird" has definitely by far,

got to be the fattest hummer I have ever seen!

And believe me, I have seen a lot of hummingbirds.

I've still got a half a dozen or more very active and vocal

juvenile male hummingbirds stirring things up here.

This guy is guarding three feeders right outside my studio porch.

Extremely aggressive, this Bubba Bird must have

an overload of hormones rushing through his veins.

Bubba's a great hunter. I've watched him successfully pluck

countless tiny insects from the air. He seems much more

concerned with stuffing his face with protein than sugar water.

I have a feeling he's a regular that was hatched here.

I bet he will be the very last one to give up

his claim to the digs this year in Hummer Land.

Getting Ready For Hurricane Irene

Jerry and I have spent the last day and a half preparing for Irene.

The house looks so empty after we removed all the shepherd's hooks,

chairs, decorations and hanging baskets.

We still have some of the hummingbird feeders hanging.

The little birds don't like the new arrangement one single bit.

And I can't say I blame them.

I don't think anyone has visited this one that I tied to the railing yet.

Jerry's workshop looks like a nursery.

There are plants everywhere.

His fishing pole rack makes a great hanger.

We moved the truck and trailer to a safe spot away from the trees.

Topped off the water trough . . . 

Jerry did some grating in front of the horse stalls

so that the water would hopefully drain away.

Put plexi-glass in Rita's west side window. . . 

Moved the metal pony into the barn . . .

And now we are all just waiting and hoping that Irene will be kind to us

and keep moving farther out to sea.

More Paintings From Hummerland!

Ok, I repainted this hummingbird for the third time! Although I'm STILL not 100% satisfied, I guess it's close enough to what I wanted that I can move on now though. In addition, I decided that doing it over four times was getting just a wee bit too obsessive. :-D

This little resting hummingbird painting is from another one of the sketches I posted this summer on SketchingEveryday.com. You can see another perched hummer painting posted there today with the sketch I did it from.

I now have ten feeders out and we are going through more than a gallon of nectar everyday. I have never had this many birds this early in the season before. I think it's going to be a banner year!  Be sure to check out my 5 Steps To Happy Hummingbirds for in-depth information and tips on attracting your own birds.

Hungry Hummingbirds

Today here's a quick tip for all you hummingbird caretakers out there.

We love white Ocean Spray Cranberry juice. It is delicious and comes in just the right size jug to make and store nectar in. If you are lucky, you may be able to enlist a helper or two. Here Inspector Tommy keeps a watchful eye and makes sure that I am doing things correctly.

Wash the container thoroughly after you finish the juice and take the label off. (So you don't go in there and pour yourself a huge glass of sugar water, thinking it's juice.)

Each jug holds exactly 7 1/2 cups of liquid. So, at a four parts water to one part sugar, just add 1 1/2 cups of sugar to the bottle (I use a 1/2 c. scoop and a funnel). Get your tap water as hot as you can and fill the jug almost to the top and shake, shake shake.  No heating necessary!! Honest! (Let it cool before filling feeders.)

The nectar will keep for up to two weeks in the fridge. Because the Ocean Spray bottles are square, they fit nicely.

The hummingbirds love cold nectar in the hot weather and mixing it up ahead of time also makes your job much easier. Right now I've only got one bottle made up, but later in the season, as the activity picks up, I will make gallons at a time. Here's what my refrigerator looked like last summer.

The Hummingbirds Are Here ! !

Now license this image here.

O.M.G. - I JUST SAW MY FIRST HUMMINGBIRD!! A tall handsome male was just seen taking a long drink at the feeder. Once again friends, I am in Hummer Heaven!!

This image available for license.

Rating Hummingbird Feeders From My Reject Pile

Avoid These Mistakes!

Here is a snapshot of some of my Hummingbird Feeder mistakes, discards and disasters. I'm sharing them with you, so you don't make the same errors! :-D



Going from left to right (clockwise) . . .
Bottom Left:
A. Perky-Pet Brand Hummingbird Feeder - I'm not sure where this came from or when. Pros: Made in USA, Cons: The picture on the box shows the dreaded red-dyed hummingbird nectar which the company still sells! It is common knowledge that at best the dye is totally unnecessary and it may even be harmful to the birds. This feeder would be a nightmare to clean for various reasons. You don't even want to get me started! To tell you the truth, I can't ever remember even opening the box before. And from my experience with flocks of hummers, they prefer the saucer feeders.Top Left:
B. No-Name Arty Hummingbird Feeder -Pros: A gift. Unique. Cons: Made in China. Hard to clean, too many parts, not my type. (Probably goes for 70% of all pretty feeders too.)Top:
C. Best One - Giant Hummingbird Feeder - Pros: Made in USA. A half gallon capacity and eight ports! (See bottom in center of basket.)Woo Hoo! Could last me more than 24 hrs. in an emergency situation. (ie: I couldn't be home to monitor the nectar situation 24/7.) Cons: Hard to clean and fill. Very Heavy when full. Top loop broke off from weight and hubby patched it. Plastic has discolored. Too ugly to put back up. I still have good feelings for this object though and will keep it on hand for back-up.Top Right:
D. The Droll Yankee Window Feeder - Pros: Made in USA, Very cute, Really Close-up Viewing, Fun, time consuming project. Cons: Doesn't hold much nectar. Messy sticky windows from hummingbird poo. Many little parts. Time consuming project.Far Right:
E. Perky-Pet Brand - Oasis Feeder - Pros: Made in USA, Hummingbirds love these feeders! I used them for years and just retired my last few. I have phased them out for several reasons. Cons: The company stills sells red nectar. The little yellow flowers are unnecessary and create a lot more work in the maintenance department. They fall off and get brittle and are a bitch to clean. (Please pardon my French.) Loop on top of hanger is smaller, making connector "S" hooks necessary when attaching to a shepherd's hook.Bottom Right:
F. Aspects Oriole Feeder - Pros: Made in USA, Quality product, Easy to clean. Nectar recipe on bottom of lid. Cons: I can't seem to attract Orioles. They pass through occasionally, but quickly move on. Only four ports. Not optimal for hummingbirds, but would do in a pinch.

Gee. Not Pictured (All in use.):
HummZinger - Aspects - Pros: Many! Cons: Few! - I now almost exclusively use Aspects HummZingers. I have many of their various sizes and models and love them for many reasons. See yesterday's post's photo of a 16 oz. HummZinger. There is too much information to go into today, but I promise to tell you more about them, list their features and rave about the benefits of owning these in a variety of sizes in an upcoming post! Until then, Happy Humming!

See 5 Steps to Happy Hummingbirds here.