I thought I was the only person in the world that felt this way about all these god %#*@(% subdivisions popping up all over what used to be the most beautiful pieces of farm land. Everytime I see another piece of land being cleared for a housing development, or a strip mall, I literally get sick to my stomach and feel another small piece of me die. I feel a little better to know that I'm not alone in my feelings. I must also say that it sickens me to see these city slickers moving out to the country, buying up several acres, putting up a gargantuan house, cutting down all the existing plants to create a huge fake looking landscape, and then never actually getting outside to enjoy the country. And when they do go outside, they gripe at the slightest smell of farm. I completely agree with the other's comments in this forum that city folk are such frail lil flowers, and so on. They hit it dead on. how pathetic. I currently live in a subdivision which is only a few years old. (we won the house in a contest, otherwise we would never have moved there.) We've been there for 4 months and i still don't feel like I'm "home". I will never feel at home in this place. I felt more at home in the apartment we had before this house. The neighborhood feels so "sterile". There are no trees more than 4 feet tall, and all of the houses and landscaping is so cookie cutter I could puke! Fortunately, this was a free house, and my fiance and I are going to use it as a financial springboard to get the money we need to move into the country where we will not try to change the land to fit us, but instead we will thoroughly enjoy the sounds of the tractors, the smell of manure, the lush foliage, the serene quiet and everything else that comes with being "home". I wish I had a magic wand that I could use to get rid of all the strip malls, the subdivisions, and the frail lil flowers coming from the urban areas to pollute our beloved countrysides....if only.

Jan, Your bird is a male that was born this past summer. They start out with a white stippled throat similar to a female's and grow in the full red gorget by the time they migrate back to the north in their fist spring. The bottom photo posted on Feb 12th shows one gorget feather grown in on the center of the throat. A female's throat would be white with minimal stippling and would not have that one feather. Within the next month or so, the red throat will grow in one feather at a time and the white tipped tail feathers will make way for a shorter pointed forked tail without any white. In past years, most of the young males in my yard had full gorgets by late March or early April before they departed for the north.

Hi to you all, I have so enjoyed reading the wonderful posts on this site. This is my first time to post and I have lost my heart to hummers but haven't very much knowledge. This was the first year of observing them and feeding them. You see, I live in Corpus Christ, Texas in an apartment without a yard, of course. I put one feeder out, made my own nectar with 1:4 ratio sugar cane and water. I simmered it for 10 mins. as suggested and thought," oh well, if they come, great and if not, no big deal". Well,come they did!! In April, when they arrived there were as many as 16 trying to a sip, while 4 sat at the feeder! My heart soared and I bought 2 more feeders. Who can believe such a miracle of color, detail and fearlessness in one tiny creature! I went through a time of seeing many everyday and then a sparse amount came for a time and then none. I was brokenhearted until I researched and discovered that when the flowers are in full bloom and/or when nesting, they will appear less frequently. I was disappointed until about 3 weeks ago when they came back to feast at my balcony once more. I have Blackchins and Rubys for sure, and some that have defied identification. They have grown accustomed to seeing me and if you can believe it, the little blackchins will even come up to patio door and peer in at me as I sit at the computer. I have tried photographing them but they "fuss" at me so much that I've given that a rest for now and decided just to enjoy them. Well, anyhow,(sorry this is so long) today I held one of the feeders at dusk and placed my hands on the perches and the most wonderful thing happened. Although they would not land on my hands, they hovered so close to my fingers that their wings touched my fingers and then would circle in back of me and brush the back of my head! I have a tear on my cheek and a lump in throat even now. Oh how I love these babies! Now, I have a question. I will be moving in a month to a new location, near Houston to teach. What will become of these little guys? I am so worried about how they will fare without my feeders. Anyone who help me with this question, please. Thanks so Much, Pam in Corpus Christi

All of my feeders are hanging under the branches of shade trees out of the sun, since light and warmth will encourage bacteria and/or mold in any feeder, regardless of whether it's plastic or glass. Rainwater helps that along, so the downward-pointing tubes you're using keep the nectar cleaner than any other type, but aren't practical if the hummingbirds consume a gallon of sugar-water a day. In the past fifteen years, two or three 8 - 16oz feeders were plenty and uneaten nectar had to be dumped every third day or so. But I started planting more flowers last year and got the first breeding pair to take up residence. This year, with even more flowering plants, there was an unexpected population explosion. Now there are twelve feeders in the yard of seven different types/ brands and they all get used, though five are hung under what's become The Hummingbird Tree because of the crowd that prefers to feed there. They're using both rings on the Best-1 as perches: