Sometimes you have to be patient. Many of us have found that some birds that have learned what a feeder is, may not be familiar with the type you have. Sometimes all it takes is one bird familiar with your feeder (knowing that it will give them nectar) and the rest will watch and learn how to use it, and will remember where it is (including for next year)!

Also note that hummers tend to be more active during certain times of the day (usually early in the morning or late in afternoon, with a flurry that might happen around noon), so they may be coming but you are missing them! When presented with flower alternates, and considering their primary diet is insects, they often come and drink for barely 5 - 10 seconds to fuel up for an insect hunt or chasing, and then off they go. Additionally, when nesting is going on, the activity (at least by the females), tends to drop off dramatically, and will pick up in a couple weeks as the babies fledge and join them. Also during migration times, there's usually a big flurry of activity as birds stop to feed on their way further north in spring or south in fall, and then the sightings drop off.

Thanks for the encouraging words. I'll keep up my routine. Hopefully one of the visitors will be brave enough to try the feeder.

It doesn't sound like you're doing anything wrong. I wish I could see your photobucket picture, though. I assume it was of your feeder. Sometimes I wonder if certain feeders are easier to get the hang of than others. Or, maybe certain birds have no experience with feeders at all, or only have experience with certain types and have trouble understanding others. I don't claim to know, just wondering.

I first started feeding the hummingbirds last August. A female and some young birds were visiting our trumpet vine by the window, and I decided it would be fun to try a feeder to draw them in closer. I bought one at the store that was pretty, but didn't work very well. I salvaged the rubber stopper from it, and stuck it into a small glass bottle we had lying around. Next, I fashioned a fairly realistic bright red flower from artist's sculpey clay, poked a hole through it with a bamboo skewer, and attached it to the stopper. I made a wire harness and hung the bottle at a slight downward angle.

To my joy, and surprise, they instantly went for it. My goal was to make it as similar in appearance and function to a flower, and it looks like I succeeded. Or, maybe they were just feeder savvy. I don't know. Also, although the glass bottle is certainly not natural, it's quite small. Sometimes I wonder if hummers can be intimidated by larger feeders, or confused by ones that don't have recognizable flowers. They are inquisitive though, and I imagine that they will inspect almost anything that's red or looks like a brightly colored flower, and will soon lose their fear of anything strange.

Whatever your feeder design, I imagine they will catch on soon enough. With temperatures around 80, you may want to change the nectar every other day, instead of every third. Every third is probably OK, too, but if you're having trouble getting them, why not provide the freshest nectar possible?

Tony,
I just got my first extended visits this weekend. Before, it was just a quick fly by with short drink which took about 5 seconds. Blink and you missed it.

Yesterday I was working around the patio and had 3 visits before noon. She sampled most of the plants I provided and stayed a couple of minutes each time. She ignored the feeder, however. This was pretty much the same routine as last summer. I throw away 90% of the sugar water I put in the feeder.

My hummers have always been more active after 6:30pm.

I am having the same issue with very sporadic hummers. I saw a male a few times in June and a female a few times at the beginning of the month, But nothing in the last couple of weeks. I have all the favorite flowers - bee balm, coral bells, penstemon, hyssop, butterfly bush, etc., as well as three different kinds of feeders. The ones I have seen stopped at all the feeders and a bunch of the flowers, but none of them seem to stay. But, I will be patient and keep the nectar fresh!

I have a question for those with the fleeing hummingbirds. Do you have trees and shrubs in the yard? Mine come to the feeder then usually hang out in the trees. My dominant male likes to get in an old oak with some dying branches and twigs where he can scope out his territory. The others are always in trees as well. After they eat they seem to like to perch to preen themselves.

Well, patience is a virtue. Tonight, two hummers tried the feeder and one came back every 10 minutes! I took a few pictures. Hopefully they came out well; if so I'll post them. But it was quite exciting to finally get some hummers to try my feeder.

--Tony

I think I have a regular visitor too. I saw her twice last night and twice this morning. The feeder that I have right outside my window has perches on it so she lands and stays for a while. She is only about 2 feet away from me!

I've had very few visits this year. By this time last year I had several "regulars" and was able to stand by the window and await the next visit to get pictures. This year I can count sitings on my fingers. I did have one visit yesterday with a female that actually sat and sipped. That was the longest visit I've had this year. I watched at dusk, traditionally a good time, and no one came.

It's been a disappointing year for watching hummers.

Deb in PA

I don't care what anyone says, but I am convinced that all of the recent hurricane activity in the Fall (during their prime migration time) has put a real dent in the Rubythroated hummingbird population. I have been feeding hummingbirds for 15 years and I always had 8-10 regulars at my seven feeders all day long. They would sit in the trees and protect "their" feeder. When another hummer came along, they would chase each other away. This went on all day long from 5 a.m. to 8 p.m. Now I am down to 3 regulars. Hummers and hummingbird gardening are my hobbies and I'm not "missing" them. They just are not there in the past 3 years like they were before.

Tony and Maggie
The hummers may have been there all the time and if they were females they were nesting. Mine Came to the feeders between 5:30 and 5:45 every morning and then again in the evening betwen 7 or 8 and an occasional quicky during the day. I am starting to get more activity now at the feeders and flowers off and on throughout the day which tells me that the nestlings have or will fledge the nest soon. I did have an immature female come to the bee balm yesterday evening while I was standing right beside it. She was completely undaunted by my presence and just zipped in and out of the flowers hitting every bloom while I stood there like a stone statue.

Penny