Humming Birds??????????

[Usc529]

Just bought some hummingbird food and anxious to put my feeders out would it be okay to go ahead and put them out now living in south carolina zone 8 its been in the 70's for the past week here yay!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :tools

 

[beavis]

Should be good to go.

There is only one species of hummingbird that regularly frequents the east coast of the United States. It is the Ruby-throated Hummingbird.

Dissolve your nectar or sugar 1 part for every 4 or 5 parts of water.

I usually heat up the water to help the sugar dissolve, then cool it down. Seems to stop mold growth that way too.

 

[vfem]

I usually don't see humming birds return, even with the warm around here until April. I'm zone 7b... and even with the reasonably warm temps... I've only witnessed the return of the spiders!

 

[Ridgerunner]

I'm not sure when they return to your area. You might want to be careful if you still get freezing temperatures. That liquid could freeze and burst your feeder. That happens to those little plastic rain gauge tubes too.

 

[Collector]

I think if you dont have any threat of frost you better get it out. Around our place we like to get them out before they showup for the season, to make sure we get some costomers. If you dont have it out in the spring when they show up, and keep a steady supply they will bail on you and search for better providers.We usually start with the store bought nectar, and once we have the hook in them we switch to making our own, I dont think it makes a difference though.

 

[lesa]

I try to get mine out, about a month before they should arrive. One of my bird books suggested it, just in case some birds come early. I haven't ever seen one early- but I do it, just in case... I still have a couple months to wait for mine.

 

[thistlebloom]

I like to get ours out early too. I bring them in at dusk and they go back out early a.m. to protect them from freezing. Also I like to think they appreciate the nectar at a warmer than air temperature. It
makes me shiver watching them drink the ice cold stuff! I see that last year our first hummer was spotted on April 27. Usually it's the Rufous that come first. The store bought nectar has artificial coloring in it which can't be good for them, so just make it per beavis' direction. (I like to bring mine just to a boil, then let cool.) Also don't let it sit in the feeder longer than 3 days or it will ferment, especially the feeders that are in the sun. I just put a small amount in the feeders and store the rest in the fridge.

 

[luvsdirt]

We usually put out our feeders around April 1 and don't recommend the pre-mix hummer food either. It has artificial coloring, plus it gums up in the feeders sometimes. 1 part sugar to 4 parts water, boiled and cooled, no coloring for our feeders. Ours hang in the sun, as well, so they need to be changed at least each 5 days. So anxious for that first hummer!:tools

 

[vfem]

I think I have our stuff nailed down with timing. The humming birds come here to nest when the mimosa tree begins budding. That tree is always covered, and you can find their little nests in it too after all the leaves fall in the autumn.

Usually my peach tree buds & blooms a week or 2 before the mimosa, and that is 1-2 weeks after the almond tree blooms.

The Western Red Buds are all already getting ready to bloom... so it shouldn't be much longer. The bees are already really active!

 

[Usc529]

hadnt seen any humming birds yet feeders are still full anybody from aiken sc or surroundings seen any humming birds yet?:tools