well i see the results! not in the hummers since theya are sleeping when i get to work, but i do see the feeders. the 1 to 3 doesn't appear to have been touched since i put the 1 to 1 up. in one day,it is at least half gone- a little over 16 oz. capacity. as for home, my little hummer can't eat that fast. but, it guards the feeder from the second one nearly all day. there are several feeding at the work feeders. the most hilarious thing i just saw: as the hummer was perched on the clothesline it kept flinging, and i do mean flinging and flipping, that long tongue out. too funny. then, i realized it was preening. hmmmmm, lots of critters? another thought has been bugging me. i see them perched jerking their heads in all directions, pointing the beaks up, and some throat movements. could be all territorial displays, but i really wonder if they are singing outside of our hearing range.

Regarding the 4:1 sugar solution: the four to one mix (20%) is the standard but Marcia's three to one (25%) is used by some, especially in winter when freezing is a possibility. The higher concentration of solids lowers the freezing temperature of the liquid so it will remain liquid in colder temperatures. Refractometer testing of nectar from various "hummingbird plants" indicates that the sugar percentage of naturally occurring nectar ranges from 15% to greater than 32% (32% is the highest accurate measure for the refractometer used). The percentages vary by season as well as time of day. Although birds may feed on the flowers measuring 32%, many the blooms fed on will likely be of a lesser concentration, averaging in the range of our homemade solutions. The recipe for sugar water has always been 4:1 then boil for 2 minutes to kill any bacteria. Boiling isn't really necessary for sanitizing the solution. I boil the water before adding the sugar just to dissolve the sugar easier. If you keep extra solution in the refrigerator, boiling may extend its shelflife. The boiling free powders are just finely ground sugar that dissolves easily. I recommend against using any of the solutions or powders that have added ingredients. There is no evidence that any of these ingredients are necessary and the fact that there are many cases of birds feeding almost exclusively at feeders with no health issues indicates that there is not a long term problem with our feeder solutions. The female Rufous that has visited my yard for the past seven years migrates to the north Pacific coast for the summer and then returns to my yard for seven month of the year (August - March). My issue with the solutions without additives is mainly a case of money. How much sugar can you buy for the cost of one bottle of solution. It's like coffee at a restaurant. At a dollar plus a cup of coffee, you could buy a pound of coffee for the cost of 5-6 cups. How many cups of coffee can you make with that pound. Regarding Sarasota hummingbirds: If you first saw them in August in the past, that's what I'd expect this year as well. Areas near breeding birds are beginning to see the local young dispersing. If you don't have any local breeding, you can expect birds when migration of young birds and adult males begins in late July/early August. Migration lasts through September/October. It sounds like you were seeing migrating birds last year. It may have seemed as though they were the same birds but you likely saw a regular turnover of birds. The "experts" like to suggest that these birds don't stay longer than 2-3 days but I believe some of these birds stay much longer. I would like to see fall banding of hummingbirds to confirm the timeframe that they stay but it is almost impossible to get them in the cage with the abundance of flowers around. Regarding summering birds south of Tampa: I received a report of a Ruby-throated Hummingbird nest on the Big Cypress Bend boardwalk (Collier County) a few weeks ago. The observer documented it with photos and video. Steve Steve Backes Valrico, FL backes1@verizon.net http://mysite.verizon.net/resu64md/yardhummers/ http://floridahummingbirds.net/ http://floridahummingbirds.proboards.com/ Here is a link that might be useful: Florida Hummingbirds Forum

We were just getting past the crocus and into the daffodils when the cold hit here. I had coral bells, columbine and bleeding hearts sprouting but no blooms yet. I don't know how much their blooms may be delayed, if at all. It sounds like you've got a great hummer 'diner' ready for the little guys. I like to put out annual flowers in pots as soon as they are available in stores, just to jump start the availability of flowers. Petunias aren't as cold hardy as pansies and violas, but I know hummingbirds love them. Does anyone know if hummers can access the nectar from pansies or any of the spring bulbs? I put out one feeder last night, even though we have a winter storm warning in effect - 4-5" of snow in our area. I just want to be sure if the odd hummer is around I've done all I can to help it. I spotted one on April 19th one year!!! P.S. I didn't think to ask permission before posting the info from Lanny's site. My intent was to share very pertinent info and encourage anyone who hasn't visited his site to do so. I hope he won't mind????

I'm glad you posted this question. I have my plants scattered around in different places in the yard and I was thinking about making a single hummingbird garden instead. It didn't occur to me that the hummingbirds might not like it that way. I was just thinking that it would make it easier to VIEW the hummingbirds. I feel like when I go over to watch them in one area, they just fly off to another. I have only Ruby-throat hummingbirds here. I wonder if some species are more territorial than others.