So, what is their preferred feed? I've always heard just sugar water. What % ? Up here by Gainesville, ad actually saw one fly by yesterday evening. Thought about going and getting a feeder in town.

jagsdad said:

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So, what is their preferred feed? I've always heard just sugar water. What % ? Up here by Gainesville, ad actually saw one fly by yesterday evening. Thought about going and getting a feeder in town.

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4 parts water, 1 part sugar. I also add one capful of this per cup of solution https://www.amazon.com/Sapphire-Labs-SLHFF-Hummingbird-Defender/dp/B00FP0HV5M to make it last longer without going bad in the heat.

Thank you, sir!

Does that defender really work?? I change mine every 2-3 days most of the summer. Feel like I should change it daily when it's 100+.

TRD-Ferguson said:

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Does that defender really work?? I change mine every 2-3 days most of the summer. Feel like I should change it daily when it's 100+.

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Ours typically goes a week to 10 days while using it. That is if the hummer leave it in the feeder that long.

I use the 1 cup sugar/4 cups water & make a double match. I just keep it in my garage fridge. I only fill my feeders up about halfway & change them every few days or like right now almost daily.

For Father's Day my favorite daughter brought me a Kiwibit bird feeder with Wi-Fi. I have it about 100 feet behind my garage and it just barely picks up the signal. I bought a hummingbird attachment for it and they empty it in a few days. There are two other hummingbird feeders close and I have six or eight constantly fighting over them. Here is a screenshot from the app.

TRD-Ferguson said:

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Does that defender really work?? I change mine every 2-3 days most of the summer. Feel like I should change it daily when it's 100+.

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If you don't use the Nectar Defender, you definitely need to change it every day. When it's more "normal" temperatures it should be changed every other day because it doesn't take long for the sugar water to ferment in the Texas heat.

The directions on the Nectar Defender say that it keeps the nectar from going bad for up to two weeks. In the 100+ temperatures, you might consider changing it 7-10 days.

jagsdad said:

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So, what is their preferred feed? I've always heard just sugar water. What % ? Up here by Gainesville, ad actually saw one fly by yesterday evening. Thought about going and getting a feeder in town.

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SIAP. Tarrant County here. I planted a red turks cap along my front porch about 10 years ago and they've been coming back every year in strong numbers. I quit bothering with the Sucrose/H2O mix ever since.

Just a suggestion if you'd like to explore a more natural alternative since they're a very drought tolerant native texas perennial shrub.

Flame acanthus, turk's cap, firebush, trumpet vine, and rock penstemon are all hummingbird magnets. Easy to grow and you don't have to mess with maintaining a feeder.

Went to the hummingbird fest in Rockport a few years ago with my wife. Went along figuring I'd make her happy and go. Turns out it was pretty cool. Went to all the houses on the tour and never seen so many hummingbirds.
It was amazing. Looks like it is coming up this weekend this year.

Ours chase each other around the feeder far more than they actually feed. There seems to be anywhere from 4 to 8 of them at any given time. My wife asked why they put multiple perches when there is never more than one feeding at a time.

maverick12 said:

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Ours chase each other around the feeder far more than they actually feed. There seems to be anywhere from 4 to 8 of them at any given time. My wife asked why they put multiple perches when there is never more than one feeding at a time.

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When you get enough birds out there that they give up on fighting each other, they will definitely feed multiples at a feeder at the same time.

HTownAg98 said:

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Flame acanthus, turk's cap, firebush, trumpet vine, and rock penstemon are all hummingbird magnets. Easy to grow and you don't have to mess with maintaining a feeder.

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Have a bunch of Turk's Cap and they love them. Still filling three feeders daily right now. 20+ birds constantly outside the kitchen window. My son bought a hummingbird perch that hangs by the feeders and they'll sit on it 18" away while I'm filling feeders. Brazen little suckers!

Man, I have had two turk's caps for about 5 years and they bloom like crazy but I have never seen anything on them except for a occasional bee. Admittedly they are on the far edge of the property and you wouldn't be able to see them from any house window. When I am in that vicinity I am usually distracted by mowing or tending to one of the pecan trees or something so I may just be not seeing them.

Ag83 said:

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Man, I have had two turk's caps for about 5 years and they bloom like crazy but I have never seen anything on them except for a occasional bee. Admittedly they are on the far edge of the property and you wouldn't be able to see them from any house window. When I am in that vicinity I am usually distracted by mowing or tending to one of the pecan trees or something so I may just be not seeing them.

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I always cut mine back at the base during the dormant season. They're a shrub so they'll grow back like any crepe myrtle that you cut down comes back with shoots ("suckers").

This guy is the real deal. He's selling out the last of his 6th editions and he personally signs every single copy he sells. He's truly a Texas Landmark.

https://neilsperry.com/

Yesterday we had at least 21 Hummingbirds around our feeders. We have three feeders on the patio and two behind the garage I can see 4 of the five while cooking at my Blackstone.. The birds are hard to count because they don't sit still very long. I noticed there was way less fighting, at one point there were three birds feeding out of a three station feeder with two hovering close waiting for their turns. Some of them are definitely getting fat for the trip ahead. This morning there was a huge downturn in activity. I checked the three feeders around the patio and they were bone dry. I guess that prompted them to head south because it's just been ones and twos all day.

On a side note I had a male Baltimore Oriole feeding at one of the hummingbird feeders behind the garage. I'll add a couple crappy cell phone pics taken through the dirty garage window.