Yes, it is good to have this sort of interest, but perhaps a little less squabbling would have been good--I say, a bit sheepishly. The only other Trey I ever heard of was also a guy, so I guess I shouldn't be surprised. The question remains, is BN a guy? I don't know of any non-female Kristins, and I am, indeed a gal. Isn't it nice we got all of that straightened out? I had a feeling there was more to your garden than you originally described, and from the beginning I suspected that's why you were so puzzled by the birds' behavior. At an earlier stage in the discussion I was frustrated that appropriate conversations were being missed in favor of the Trey's garden doesn't have much to offer hypothesis. I, too, am glad to see the discussion turn to analysis of behavior. A number of good thoughts have been expressed already. I figured your "other hummer plants" referred to significant additional plants, but even I was surprised by how much your garden has to offer. It also sounds like there are similarities between our gardens and where they are situated. The garden I speak of is actually at my mother's house in suburban Pittsburgh. Like yours, it's an old suburb, with lots of woods and streams nearby. Also, except for the trumpet vine, lilies, and daylilies, all of the hummer plantings are new this year--Agastache, Monarda, Aquilegia canadensis, Lobelia cardinalis, Salvia coccinea, Petunias, Verbenas (both annual and perennial), snapdragons, impatiens, and cardinal climber in a pot. Of these, only the Aquilegia, Salvia, petunias, verbenas, and Agastache are currently blooming. I wonder if Jenny's suggestion about patience may be in order for us. Perhaps simple habit is the key here, and it will take time for the hummers to get used to the fact that there are good, natural food sources in our gardens. Still, I think I may be onto something when I say that feeders are easy. Once the hummers have figured them out, they are like fast food. I hate to use that analogy, but I think it's apt. Feeders allow them to come in, feed, and get out quickly, with very little expenditure of energy. Feeders don't, however, provide the traces of extra nutrition that may be present in flower nectar. That is why it disturbed and surprised me last year when the hummers so readily switched from the trumpet vines to my feeders. It was nice having them at the feeders because it made them easier to see, but I couldn't help but worry if I were doing them a disservice, like opening a McDonald's. To combat this, I resolved to plant more flowers this year, and have done so. So far, I'm seeing the same thing as you--feeder preference over flowers. Interesting that when I took both feeders in for cleaning, and had them inside for an hour, I first saw the female at the columbine. Let me know if you decide to experiment with bringing your feeders inside. Are your feeders situated in your garden in plain view of the flowers? I couldn't quite figure that out from your description of you and your neighbors' yards. There also seems to be some difference in opinion about what we can expect from young birds and their behavior. On the one hand, with no feeder experience, you'd think they would be more likely to use natural sources. My experience, though, was that they, too, immediately abandoned the trumpet vine for feeders. I posted the picture of my feeder, because I wonder if the design is easier for them to acclimate to than some of the other types. I modelled one of them after a cardinal climber flower, and the other after a Salvia. Perhaps they're similar enough to flowers that it's simple for even young birds to catch on. Who knows. Maybe I'm a "victim" of my own feeder making skills. That said, it's awfully hard to arrive at conclusions about why these little birds do what they do. We could run years of carefully controlled scientific studies and we'd no doubt learn something, but still wouldn't be able to explain some of their behavior with certainty. I believe they are also capable of quirky, individual behaviors that are hard to analyze.

I am having the same problem with the seed not dropping down. As I live in the NW I asssumed that the seed was becoming wet. i have a dome over the feeder and it still gets stuck. i become frustrated as well at continually having to move the seed down manually. I have noticed that is the seed that is next to the wall of the feeder is what becomes stuck. It is suggested that the plastic wall has becomes rough and is not allowing passage of the seed to move. I have tried scrubbing the feeder and the equipment with soapy water and bleach with a thourough washing afterward to no avIl! Mary Keith

I think that in general feeders provide supplemental food for birds, and probably help them through lean times. However, it is more important that they have habitat and natural sources of food such as insects, otherwise they won't be able to raise their young. The vast majority of terrestrial birds feed their babies insects. I don't normally put up a hummingbird feeder, but did so for a month or two during the summer of 2010. That was because it was so dry that the natural sources of nectar were basically dried up. I did try to water the hummingbird plants, but also supplemented with a feeder. Otherwise, I grow various hummingbird plants in the "Hummingbird Garden" and also scattered amongst the other gardens. There are 2 or 3 hummers that use the gardens, but it could be more. The most I've seen at one time was 3. Here's some of my Lobelia cardinalis - they love it -

chickadeemelrose, I didn't see your last post when I posted last. I guess you are 'at home' working with wire, one of my favorite construction materials. If your jewelry wire isn't stiff or heavy enough to prevent tangling, you can switch to heavier wire. My theory is that the HOSPs are accustomed to flying together with other HOSPs when feeding, so when there is a 'startle' (a possible-predator alert), they expect to fly in unison straight outward, in 'parallel', which doesn't allow for ducking around obstacles. So the halo verticals make them feel caged and vulnerable. I think this explains why the halos don't deter HOSPs from nestboxes, because there they act as individuals. The other species act as individuals, not mobs, when feeding. The halos, especially when made with visible, stiff verticals properly spaced, will also deter starlings and grackles because birds with longer wingspans find it awkward to fly between the verticals. Unfortunately, this includes bluejays and cardinals. My guess is that it is less a problem for more agile fliers such as woodpeckers,which are accustomed to flying upside down and sideways (briefly) when needed. If the verticals are removable, it would provide an option to removing the entire halo when you want to do this. My feeders are so high that I need a small ladder to add or remove a halo, (but not for taking down a feeder). Also, I make the halo so that I can take down the feeder for refilling without moving the halo.