Activity @ the feeder

Good Morning People:-)

I think that this colour is probably worse than the red but, let's see...
We have a hummingbird feeder set up on the redbud tree in the
backyard, it is about 5 feet from the edge of the deck, and has
provided some interesting observations all spring and summer
long, first there was the staking of the area as a prime feeding
site, and the competion was furious for about a week as several
pairs of hummers vied for ownership of said feeder, the resulting
victors then assailed the feeder in the early morning, mid after-
noon, and another assault just before the sun set for the day.
Often during the day there would be no activity at the feeder
and a stray hummer would chance upon the sweet nectar, and
proceed to lick at the feeder, they would get about 1 minute at
the feedeer, and the 'owners' would buzz in and chase them off.
We have never been able to locate the nest, but they laid their eggs,
hatched their off-spring, and we now have the parents and their
young foraciously feeding at the holes. It appears that there are at
least 2 young, and their parents, perhaps even more, as there are
often at times 4 young or more hovering in the air waiting for a
chance to load up. Their antics are often quite hilarious as they
immate their parent's as sometimes they seem to just stab the
feeder with their needle beaks, and bury it to the hilt as though
this is their last chance to partake of the sweet juice.
A word on the nectar that we provide... it is clear, no red
food colouring.. just sugar and water syrup boiled, and then
refrigerated. We learned a few years ago that if we added the
red dye to the liquid that we in effect were adding the demise
of these colourful characters of the birding world. So now all they
get is clear, sickly sweet laden water, the ratio of water to sugar
varies, in the early spring it's more sugar to water to entice them
to stake 'your' feeder as their's, we taper it off somewhat as the
season progresses, building it back up to the same or greater
ratio as in the spring for their long flight back to their winter
areas. You can use the hummingbird nectar that is sold in
garden shoppes, or bird stores, but the sugar/water blend
works just as well.
Another way to keep the little hummers in your immediate area
if not your yard is to provide them with the ingredients that they
use for their nests. These are cattails, their fuzz in particular, or
if you haven't any near by that you can harvest in the late winter,
or early spring, and if you have climbing clematis vines, the hummers
will use the fuzz that comes on the seed heads of this vine. Also grow
in your garden flowers that the hummers enjoy to supplement,and
increase their use of the feeder, these plants include but are not
limited to bee balm, trumpet vines, honeysuckle, anything that is
red, or orangey/red in colour.
You will be provided with hours of entertainment,and be assured
that next year you will have them back again with their youngsters.
The only down side to all this is that next year we are buying another
feeder, it seems we have become a regular stop, and woe to us that
we don't provide that which they have come to expect, and honestly
it is a small price to pay for the enjoyment that these small creatures
bring.
http://fohn.net/hummingbird-pictures/