My feeder is on a third floor balcony. I am in a regular suburban apartment area. There are trees, bushes and brush nearby. This is probably where the other birds go that use the feeder (several dozen). My wife suspects the bird who spent the night is the male, who defends one or more of the three feeders (depending on the mob size). She thinks he still tries to stay somewhere on the porch but might be disturbed by our activities sometimes.The feeder he spent the night on is one foot away from a sliding glass patio door.

I don't know which they like better, since I've never put up a feeder. But I do know that with flowers alone, you can attract regular visits from the hummingbirds! Each year, there are more flowers growing in the gardens than the last. Once the Bee Balm (Monarda didyma) goes into full bloom, the hummers will visit the flowers regularly until they are ready to leave in the fall. After the Bee Balm, the Lobelia cardinalis blooms, and then the Salvia splendens and coccinea, and the Cardinal climber. These are all hummingbird favorites. The flowers seem to be visited about every 15-20 mintues. Often I'll see 2 hummers, tussling and chasing each other around the flowers and yard. Last summer, there were 2 females fighting over the Lobelia cardinalis, and a male flew into the fracas, probably the mate of one of the females. Three hummingbirds were the most I've seen at one time. I have a very native and natural backyard, so their needs for habitat and insects are satisfied as well. It also helps that a couple of the neighbors have nice gardens too.

Thanks for your comment, mbrowne. I'm sure the additional feeders are affecting their behavior as well. Last year, the two feeders were guarded fiercely from a nearby wire. With 5, I'm finding one bird only guards one or two, and allows feeding at the others. I don't know if you remember my comments about timidity earlier this year--you were surprised. Well, this new mob isn't as timid, either. They'll feed if I stand motionless a few feet away, and tolerate some movement inside the house. Also I've noticed they may turn their back on me (I guess to shut out the intrusive sight of me :) Fly off only at movement, but even then come right back. All the extra acitivity is definitely worth the little bit of extra work.

I live in SE GA and lovebugs have been here as long as I can remember. The thing is there are more here than I've ever seen before. Its like they are attracted to my house for some reason. There were hundreds on my doors so when you go in and out they come in and they are all over my house dead and smushed. I have been vacuuming them up like crazy. They did get inside my hummingbird feeders and had to be dumped out time and again. I have noticed them decreasing in the last 3 days. I will be glad when they are gone too!!