Hi Everybody! Molanic, I also live in a suburb of a big city. YES YOU CAN attract hummers to your yard or porch! Here is what my experience has been: a) Definitely have more than one feeder - maybe minimum 3. The more there are, the safer visiting birds feel since, yes, the males are EXTREMELY territorial over their feeder once they claim them (apparently they don't go to kindergarten and learn how to share). b) They like something safe and shady to perch on near the feeder; I've hung a regular wire coat hanger about 2' from the feeders and they like it; then a place to fly away to hide in - trees or tallish branchy not too dense shrubs nearby are terrific, just one will do fine. c) They don't like the feeder if it's placed in too remote/recessed/shrub-hidden/hard to access location; they like to have a speedy escape route! Easy in, easy out. But - they're still scared of people so it can't be too close to where someone might sit on a porch or they'll be too scared to approach it. Some will, but most won't. d) jjdbike is absolutely right about the nectar. NO FOOD COLORING! Doesn't need it. I use 1 part plain ol' white sugar to 4 parts water, that's all. I use a clear rectangular 1 qt. plastic feeder with a red top and red bottom, no yellow 'flowers' on it, pretty plain and simple, AND IT HAS A PERCH ALL AROUND IT so the little birdies can REST while they're eating instead of having to burn energy FLYING WHILE THEY'RE EATING - sheesh! Please Don't get feeders without perches. e) PATIENCE, patience, patience. If you keep the feeders filled & clean (empty, clean & refill them once a week; MOLD GROWS IN THEM NOTORIOUSLY!), The Hummers Will Come. Trust Me. Mine did! :) And if they consistently keep finding the smorgasbord you consistently provide for them, they will return, and others in the area will find it & come too. Happy Humming To You! ~ Susan in Reseda, CA

I LOVE the festival! This will be the fourth year I'm attending. For anyone who can travel down to Rockport and find somewhere to stay, you can pick up a map of the "hummer homes" and the banding locations, and can drive around to these and sit and watch the hummingbirds in the different yards all day long for FREE. The banders are so knowledgeable, and talk to the crowd about different hummingbird facts and answer questions while they work. When they're done with each bird, anyone who wants to can come to the table and hold their hand out, palm up, and the bander puts the hummingbird in your hand, where it usually sits for several seconds before flying away - such a neat experience! The migration is truly a wonder of nature - if you can possibly manage to experience it you really should. One of our favorite spots is the white house on Fulton Beach Road - think it's Herring Home. They have a row of hanging feeders down the side of the house, and at peak feeding times each feeder can have 20, maybe more hummers buzzing around it. You won't understand how completely amazing it is until you see it! I'll see if I can post some photos from last year...

Roxy77 mentioned "they will come right up to me as I hang the feeders". I now have 4 feeders along 3 sides of my house in Huntsville. Fortunately there is an open place inside my house where I can see them all at the same time, making it easy to count the hummers present at once. When I recently found the 4th feeder in a "safe place" out in my garage and took it outside to see where I could hang it, a hummer immediately came up to me and especially it, looking to feed right there, right now. I had to high-tail it back into the house to avoid hummer disappointment, go back out to hang the new hook and the chain, fill the feeder, and then hang it. The hummers were there in seconds. Also they buzz around me when I fill the existing feeders. They simply cannot wait! Hovering Eager Puppy Dogs! My suggestion to the original post is to put feeders in several places where you can see them and simply wait and watch to see if the hummers use them. In this "tankup time", my experience is that hummers will find all the available feeders and spend much of their time defending them - even though there might be sufficient feeders and feeding stations that everyone could eat as the same time - but that "drink and let drink" cooperation is simply not in their genes this time of year. But it's extremely entertaining this time of year. Jim

Hey rcmarti! What part of south Texas are you from? I live in Rockport and am one of the Hummer Homes. Here is a message that I posted earlier today on another forum. LOTS OF HUMMER IN ROCKPORT---FINALLY! October 3 2007 at 10:03 AM Linda (Login ltcollins1949) Hummingbird Member 2005 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I guess our little guest were just trying to let us know that they decide where they will go and when! We were talking yesterday, that they, the HB's, are two to three weeks late for their party. This is the first year that I have had the masses of hummers this late in the year. I'm sure that the birds and Mother Nature know what they are doing, but it has been a big surprise to everyone. This is the 12th HB season that I have lived at this house. Each year, I see more and more hummers. And throughout the years, I have noticed that some years, most to all of the hummer activity takes place in the back yard close to the water. Other years most of the activity takes place out front. Well this year, I have only a handful of hummers out back. I have 6 mini feeders out back, because they were not using them. The HB's are all out front. I have 6 large feeders and 8 mini feeders out front that I am refilling 3 times a day. I've been using lots of solution, but not as much as the years when they feed heavily out back. My conclusion is that all of my hummer plants are out front, none in the back yard, in addition to the fields across the street from me which are full of hummer wildflowers. This year, we have had lots and lots of rain, and all of the plants look wonderful this year. And there are lots of hummers using the plants, BUT I have tons of hummers at my front yard feeders too. The past few years, we were in a serious drought, and I think that is why most of my activity was out back, i.e. fewer to no natural nectar so the HB were forced to rely heavily on the feeders. Last night, my DH and I were sitting out on the front deck and the hummers were buzzing by us so fast and so many of them, that they looked like a swarm of bees, big bees, flying around everywhere. I commented to my DH that "I wish all of the people that came in for the HB Celebration could be here today." Oh well, maybe next year they will cooperate with us. Also the funny thing is that most all of the birds are females, with only one or two males with the group. And I've also noted that the masses of females HB's tend to bicker less and feed more than males. And this is the first year that I have yet to see a Rufous, BB or Calliope. It is a strange HB year! Also we are predicted to have a cool/cold front come in sometime Sunday. With that being the case, I'm sure most of the HB's will be heading to Mexico. Huh, I wonder if their passports are current? HA! If you live in south Texas, this means a lot considering you can just no longer run across the border for gas, food and medical services. I'll let everyone know when they move out! There is more information on this forum about some of the hummers in Texas. Rockport Hummers