I would love to, and have in the past, but here where I live, all I have is a sidewalk and rock mulch and I reallllly don't think the apt manager would like all the mess. I've tried putting it out, and the birds didn't seem to find it.

My funniest hummingbird story...

I used to hang a feeder outside the living room window, and also would have the front door open on warm days. A few times I came into the house and found a hummingbird stuck in the window screen because they tried to take a shortcut through the house to the feeder. Wish I could have gotten video of me "plucking" hummingbirds from the screen. It's an amazing thing to hold one of those vibrating little bodies.

Used to. Until the neighbors started feeding the squirrels who, in turn, destroyed all of our bird feeders. And our wooden patio set. And the trim on our shed. I love watching them, but, man, they are destructive little things.

I have planted lots of plants that the hummingbirds enjoy and I usually have a large group of them hanging around.

I have to be careful opening the screenless windows in my breakfast room because the hummingbirds will zoom right in and then not be able to find their way out which makes me crazy. They must not have very good eyesight.

For a number of years, we fed the birds, squirrels, and deer...until the bears started coming in droves to eat the food. Now (because of the bears), it is illegal to feed birds or other animals in this area.

Well Kamren and I put out another feeder... And within an hour there was a Coopers Hawk on the laundry line... So the little guys are MIA..

We have hummingbird feeders and feed our resident hummers year round. I do the same as terri and bring the feeders in after dark on nights it may freeze, DH makes certain to get up at least a half hour before daylight and put them back so some warming calories are available immediately.

We've moved within the last year but always had an agreement with most of the neighbors that we wouldn't put out mixed seed - any time any of us attempted that over the years rats moved in. I have tons of birds here all the time but put out only finch seed socks for the finches, chickadees. No squirrels, but a handful of chipmunks that are getting seed someplace because they have planted little clumps of corn, sunflowers, and a couple of pumpkins for me :)

I feed the hummingbirds... and this year had to invest in a raccoon baffle/pole. The raccoons were spilling the sugar water and breaking my expensive feeders.The baffle has remedied that problem.

I also have a suet feeder... and even though it is supposed to be Starling proof. the Starlings hang from it and (like Terri's problem) can eat a whole suet block in a couple hours. That pole has a squirrel baffle on it... I used to have a huge problem with squirrels.. wish I'd bought a baffle years ago. It really does work!

My biggest issue right now is the Starlings (which are here about 6 months a year). If anyone has suggestions, please share.

No. We are gone two months in winter. I do have a mass of cone flowers that I leave after they've gone to seed. We have cardinals and overwintering robins in the deep-dug creek next to the house.

Right now we also have skunks -- can smell them in the early morning. No rats. No bears. Chipmunks, yes.

No. We have bears in our area and are not allowed to have bird feeders out.

My spring hanging baskets always include brightly coloured fuschia because that seems to attract hummingbirds and I think that they are the coolest birds to watch.

This post was edited by blfenton on Fri, Oct 11, 13 at 15:34

Yes, we feed the birds, and the squirrels and the deer or anyone else that comes by. The seed we put out, thistle, safflower, black sunflower and cracked corn is meant for the birds. Dh puts a lot of effort into making the hanging feeders squirrel proof. Had to move the main feeder pole farther away from a couple shrubs this summer. Those shrubs had gotten big enough for the squirrels to use them as launching pads onto the hanging feeders. Dh keeps one ground feeder stocked and the squirrels can eat there. Deer regularly clean out the ground feeder at night.

Dh tends to a total of 8 hanging feeders, the ground feeder, 4 or 5 suet feeders and a heated bird bath from mid October to late May, or when the seed supply runs out. I take care of the hummers and the bath during warm weather.

Can't! Not allowed!

Attracts raccoons, and they are a nuisance in my condo area.

Fined if we do!

We used to feed the hummingbirds. Haven't bought a feeder for this house yet. We also used to feed the birds. That attracted mice and my dog hates birds. We don't do that anymore. I do plant a lot of flowers that attract hummingbirds and butterflies.

I only feed the birds in the winter. My feeder has a baffle on it so no squirrels and there are plenty of acorns and nuts on the ground for them.

Sue

I feed the hummingbirds with 2 feeders. My son gave me a pretty blown glass feeder for my birthday this summer, but many of the birds just cannot figure it out. So I use the old one too.

I have a 6 port hummer feeder, we keep out year round. We used to have more hummers and we had about 4-5 feeders going, not now. I also feed seed birds, I have the feeders on shepards hooks, the squirrels can not climb them, they eat any seed the birds drop. We also have rabbits, I do not feed them, they just nibble around. We live in So Cal, so we have some birds here year round.

We do feed the hummingbirds. Other birds no. Sadly when we fed the birds we also attracted the squirrels. So we had to discontinue feeding of birds. But we planted plants that they could feed off of. I loved to watch the cardinals, blue jays, blue birds and wrens and other birds come to the feeders. Mary

I used to have bird feeders in my yard, but slowly the squirrels too over. I am now overrun with squirrels.

For the past 6+ years I get ducks that come to nest. What I don't like is momma and her babies floating around my pool because of the skimmer and chemicals. I've had some babies not able to get out of the pool, so I had to build a ramp. This years mom and dad were named Fred and Ethel :)

I don't have a hummingbird feeder but I do have huge Mexican sage plants, some red salvia, a lemon tree that blooms almost all year and a lantana. They attract a lot of hummingbirds.
I also feed the house finches, white crowned sparrows and anything else attracted to my bird feeder. Mostly I give them sunflower seeds from the giant sunflowers I planted this year.
Also, the fennel and the cosmos are going to seed now so I have seen a lot of lesser goldfinches.
The mockingbirds are back and are nesting in the lemon tree and the old cypress trees in the back.
Lots of painted lady butterflies on the lantana.

used to but with these cats around dont do it anymore

Yes I feed the birds seed and suet in the winter and bread in the Spring and summer. I also hang hummingbird feeders and grow many of their favorite plants. I also have many native shrubs with berries for the birds...two cranberry viburnums, and a grape vine also a button bush and a spice bush and elderberry. I love my birds.
Joann

I hate the sparrows, but they are there. I try to get cardinals, but the red wing blackbirds eat their food. So, I have my robins. I try to keep things working right in the garden so that they have enough to dine on. This summer we had three nesting pairs in the yard. I continue to hope that they will return next year. All gone for this year already.

Jim

Yes, I think we feed every single bird and squirrel in our town by the amount of $ we spend on seed, plus bread and peanuts. We have 4 feeders plus a hummingbird feeder and birdbath in our back yard and 5 feeders plus a hummingbird feeder in our front yard, plus two tube feeders and 3 watering dishes/birdbaths. We call our front yard our "Wildlife Entertainment Center". Some of those crazy squirrels we have named: Barny, Metal, Logger, Chewy, Loco and Loco Jr. Soon we will have an influx of redwinged blackbirds that will strip all feeders clean. This happens twice a year. They stay around at least 3 months each time.Our feed bill doubles then. Our hummers have left now to travel further south and won't return until April. Sure miss those little darlings.

We feed several types of birds. I have sugar bottles, niger seed bags,seed hoppers, ground level seed screens and quail blocks. We have squirrels and racoons, but have very little problem with them. When the "bully" birds like starlings and blackbirds become pests we take the feeders all down for a few days and that works pretty well. We really enjoy the birds.

With the onset of cold weather and shorter daylight hours I increase the sugar ratio:

"Sweeter Nectar: The typical hummingbird nectar recipe is a solution of one part sugar to four parts water, and this solution begins to freeze at 27 degrees Fahrenheit (-2.8 Celsius).

More sugar will help lower the freezing point of the solution, and a solution of one part sugar to only THREE parts water is more suitable for cold weather. Not only will it stay unfrozen in slightly colder temperatures, but it will also provide a stronger source of energy for hungry hummingbirds."

Here is a link that might be useful: Feeding Wintering Hummingbirds

I've been feeding birds here for 38 years, and at my previous house I fed and hand-tamed them. (Not hummingbirds, but many others, including Evening Grosbeaks.)

I used to feed all year round, but several years ago a bear killed one of my dogs, and the Game Warden said I was attracting them with the bird seed. So now I feed only when they're hibernating.

I still fed hummingbirds during the summer, but was reluctant to continue this year because I now have two outdoor cats and I didn't want to set the hummers up for disaster. One of many reasons why I think cats should be indoors only, but that has not worked out for me with these two.

I feed the hummingbirds while they are around. Just put the feeder away for the winter. They have been gone for awhile now.

Sometimes I fill the seed feeder, but it is quickly covered by sparrows who empty it in no time. I don't enjoy watching them. We now have a stray cat in the neighborhood who hangs around the feeders and grabs the birds off of them. One day I am going to trap that damn cat and take it to a kitty shelter.

Omg..Kamren just said look at that bird...it's a Blue Jay..I have never seen one here..until 2 min ago..

I up my sugar ratio in the winter too..

I am out of food..I will be heading to town soon to stock up...one feeder has about 3"...
The Starlings showed up yesterday afternoon..

I feed the hummingbirds and was richly rewarded for it this summer.

Jodi-

my sister always had hummers but we've never had them...everyone gets fed around here'll...(winter mostly) our biggest group aside from the 9 doves, are of course squirrels...have a pair of cardinals, yellow (once in a great while) smaller woodpeckers, chimpmonk, and bunny and now a ground hog?