Hummingbirds are so quick that they are in to feed at a feeder and can be away again in a matter of 1-2 minutes. Unless you are staring at the feeder all of the time, it is very easy to miss them. I have two feeders and keep them in locations where I can see them out of my windows. Since you are in New Hampshire they may actually be leaving you already for their southern migration.

Unlike our friends in California and Texas, it is rare for me in Pennsylvania to have the hummingbirds drink the feeders dry. I usually have to replace the nectar way before that happens.

I also rarely have more than one bird at the feeder at a time although today I had two perching on the front yard feeder at the same time.

My suggestion is to move your feeder close to a window where you can watch it more often.

I hope this helps you....

Charlotte

Just a question...are the feeders conspicuous? Also check your nectar solution. A home-made sugar/water solution of 1:4 works well.

I have numerous of my hand-crafted insulin bottle hummie feeders on one side of my yard - merely because that side stays shaded most of the day in this 100+ south Texas summer heat and I don't want the nectar to spoil so quickly.

You might try putting out smaller feeders and spread them throughout your yard...that way you can easily see the nctar level go down or the empty feeders :o)

Hummies are really quite adept at finding feeders. I have an elderly neighbor who likes to sit outside her front yard and watch the regular birds at my seed feeders so I put a couple of my little insulin bottle hummie feeders on a trellis that faces her yard. I had never put feeders on that side of my house...but the hummies found those feeders in only a few minutes!!!

I still don't know how they do it...am thinking they were hiding up in the trees and saw me put them there :o)

...and Charann is right...hummies feed for a few seconds to a minute or so...then fly off for another five or so and come back again...they do this all day long :o)

~ Cat

I heard someone say, "watch your feeder for an hour either in the morning or evening" to see if they are around.

I start with one feeder in the spring. when I see the first dogfight, I add another and so on. I now have 9 feeders up and saw 7 hummingbirds (2 dogfights of 3, and one little one feeding in the middle) simultaneously today.

I change out my nectar twice a week in the spring, and every other day in the hot summer and fall.

good luck and keep us posted.

When I first started hanging feeders (a lifetime ago), I started with one lone feeder and increased that numer as the hummers found me. I actually have less hummers where I now live but I hang out 6 feeders by summer spreading them around the house even in areas that I can't easily see them. I have noticed that where I now live, my numbers have increased a little each year as I add more hummingbird plants. I also have lots of other bird species that we didn't have when we moved here 7 years ago.

Penny

Hi Garden.. RI here/ and I usually find the hummers come at night about dusk, tho the last couple of weeks with all this heat.. they are there all day. When I first put one out..I wasn't sure if I had any or not..but could see the liquid diminishing each day. It was my neighbor that saw them the first time........ so don't give up hope.. they're prob there... you just aren't seeing them quite yet. Sit quietly on a step nearby and watch.......or better yet/ wear a red shirt and see what happens :o)

My hummers come around 5 in the morning and they are very hungry at that time. It's not even light out and I can hear them buzzing around the feeders in the dark. It takes them a couple hours to all be fed and then it thins out for a while. But again in early evening I believe they need to fill up with energy to last overnight. I never get tired of watching those little amazing birds, probably never will.

I have 6 feeders out. I haven't seen too many hummers lately (I'm not home very much during the daylight hours) but the levels in the feeders are sure dropping.

Richard

I use Standard's method as well, with lots of small feeders (filling them only one-half or one-third full), since they won't share.

Make sure you change the solution at least every 6-7 days, depending on your weather. They don't like rotten nectar. In hot humid conditions it will go bad quickly. You can also try a 3:1 sugar solution to get their attention. Rather than fuss with a bunch of feeders plant lots of hummingbird favorite flowers and put just one feeder in a spot you can watch from a comfortable spot.

You are really supposed to change the feeder every 2-3 days. The first couple times I tried hanging a feeder I used to think changing it once week was normal but this led to more than a week between cleanings. If you plan on every 2-3 days the times you forget won't be as long between cleanings. I never did see a hummer until I got an easier to clean feeder and have been keeping up with it. Here in southern NH I've seen two so far, one on May 4th one on May 7th. Good Luck!

I used to see them fly right by my feeder until I found this forum and switched from that red commercial stuff to 4:1 ratio of sugar water. Since then they come all the time, and we get more hummers each year. Just thought I'd mention this in case you were making the same mistake. Right now I've got 2 feeders out and one in reserve for later when they start to fight over them. Sandy

Last year I had daily hummingbird activity. But, rarely on the feeder. The plants were, by far, the favored food source. I threw away 90% of the sugar water I presented. For this reason, I will only keep one feeder going.

Harry,
I only use a few ounces in each feeder. I never fill them since moving up here to NY. When I lived in La. I refilled them twice a day. But until late summer after the juvies have fledged, I only used about 4 ounces to a feeder. In late summer I use at least 8 ounces to a feeder. At that time I usually have 6 feeders up. Right now I have 4...one in the front one on the east side of the house and 2 in the back. I don't put one on the west side as it gets too hot there with no shade or protection.

Penny