[birdky] Re: water/sugar ratio
- From: Mark Monroe <markmonroe1@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: "birdky@xxxxxxxxxxxxx" <birdky@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Fri, 10 Sep 2010 10:03:07 -0400
I use 4:1 exclusively. The August timing is the norm for birds to
show up for me as well. Generally we recommend 4:1 but you can
certainly have success with 3:1 as well. In hot and dry summers like
this one was, birds are in need of water as well as sugar and there is
definitely some evaporation from feeders. My cloud of hummers empty
the feeders pretty fast and it makes those 20 lb bags of sugar last a
little longer with the 4:1. :P
As another sidenote, it really is not necessary to add food coloring
or any other additive to feeders, despite what commercial retailers
may try to sell you. In fact, some things (i.e. honey) are outright
harmful to the birds. It is important though to keep your feeders
clean and fresh, changing them out at least twice a week (more often
if it is really hot and they get direct sun). 'Sour' feeders can
expose birds to large bacteria or mold loads and at the very least,
will cause them to move on and look elsewhere.
Mark
Mark Monroe
Louisville, KY
On Fri, Sep 10, 2010 at 9:37 AM, Michael Hamm <michael.hamm@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> Also, I'm using a 3:1 water/sugar ratio now instead of a 4:1 to give the
> birds, who will soon migrate, more energy. This was recommended to me last
> year.
> I didn't see a single hummer until late mid- to late- August, but since then
> I've had several feeding.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: birdky-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:birdky-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On
> Behalf Of Mark Monroe
> Sent: Friday, September 10, 2010 9:35 AM
> To: birdky@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Subject: [birdky] Re: Hummers
>
> Most people will see their last Ruby-throateds here in Kentucky
> somewhere around October 15. There are always some stragglers that
> are reported up until the first week of November though. However, it
> is a myth that leaving feeders up can cause birds to stay too long and
> in fact keeping up a feeder year round greatly increases one's chances
> of hosting a rare hummingbird, such as a Rufous.
>
> Personally, I recommend keeping one year round, but if someone chooses
> to do so, they have to be prepared to keep it from freezing in the
> winter if they do host a wintering bird. If this isn't for you, then
> sometime between October 15 and Nov 1 should be late enough to give
> most of the late stragglers a boost on their way south. It should be
> readily apparent if you don't have a bird regularly coming in by then
> with only brief visits from late migrants. Any hummingbird seen after
> November 1 should be closely looked at as the odds of it being
> something other than Ruby-throated go up greatly.
>
> As for the dark throat of your friend's bird, that is an optical
> illusion. The 'ruby' throat is a structural color (not a true
> pigment) that can only be seen in the proper lighting. It appears
> black when it isn't.
>
> Mark
>
> Mark Monroe
> Louisville, KY
>
> On Fri, Sep 10, 2010 at 8:34 AM, Debi <debi1950@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>>
>> I have been given several diffferent opinions about when we should take our
>> hummingbird feeders down.
>> Can someone give me an approximate date that we should?
>> I was always told Sept 15th, then someone said they wait till Oct 1st to
>> give those hummers from up north a chance to stop by and get some
>> nourishment on their way south. That sounds logical.. any other ideas??
>>
>> I still have alot at my feeder for now. A friend of mine about a mile
>> away, who knows her birds, told me that she had a male hummer that only had
>> a black throat, not a bit of red on it. Is there another one around other
>> than our Ruby Throated?
>>
>> Thanks..
>> debi lucas
>> Greenup Co.
>>
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