Hmmmm...I like cats...but my dogs don't :o) Which is okay with me...since I prefer to cater to the local hummies anyway. A neighbor has a bunch of cats and on occasion I find one or two camped out on my front lawn. I don't put out any hummie feeders there but I do have lots of bird houses hanging from the trees in that area which are filled with nesting sparrows (birds I can do without...but oh well, I consider them nature's cat food). I've seen lots of hummies fly way down to about six inches off the ground - mainly when they are doing that fan dance or that battle of the beaks...but thanks to the trees and front flower beds they prefer to do that in my back yard - lots of open lush lawn there...and no cats because of the back yard doggy door!!! ~ Cat

That is so kool Sunset shepherdess, that your aunt and uncle are on Lake Belle Taine too. There is only one Belle Taine in the state and it is in the top 5 for clarity, 12 feet down you can see the bottom of the lake. Belle Taine means "where the water ceases to flow" since it is the last lake in the Mantrap chain. Well enough of that. I put my hummer feeders out at home here (prior Lake, Savage area) about a week and a half ago because I saw the little guys hanging around where I usually hang them, and up at the lake I was walking on the deck about a week ago and I got dive bombed by one and I think he was telling me to get the food out. I always take an old tupperwear giant plastic cup that holds about 8 cups, heat up the water to hot in the microwave, then pour in the sugar, mix, and heat some more, then refrigerate the nectar til its cold. I never use it all at once, and it keeps very well in the fridge to fill them next time. I always run my hummer feeders through the dishwasher about once a week and it keeps them sparkling clean and free of bacteria and stuff. A few days after I filled tham at the lake the other day two males were fighting over one of the feeders and they both hit the window slightly, but both zooooooomed away, I am pretty sure they are both okay because they kept comming back. If you watch them alot you will see that the hummers will go off and sit very still on a branch somewhere near, so the old theory they never sat still isn't true. One of my favorite authors in the world is a Minnesota native. Maud Hart Lovelace. She wrote the wonderful "Betsy-Tacy series which was based on her childhood in Mankato , she was born in 1892 and the books continue til about the age of 25 when she got married, the last of about 13 book is Betsy's Wedding" I always give her the credit for my love of birds and nature. She also wrote a wonderful childs book, "The Tune Is In The Trees" I read that book about a little girl who is accidentally left home alone, is miniturized by the hummingbirds, goes and lives up in the trees with all the different kinds of birds til her parents get home in a few weeks. I learned so much about birds form that book I still remember. Michele >^,,^

SaltiDawg - things have changed, because of the financial crisis. It's only been in the past few years, because the housing situation is so difficult. Buyer's Agents want pre-approval because they want to know that they aren't wasting time showing homes that their buyers couldn't possibly afford. Often buyers will come to us with champagne tastes but beer budgets, so to speak. Often they don't realize that they have a credit problem (whether their fault or usually not) until they try to get that pre-approval and the lender runs a credit check - this is when too many people find out that their identity has been stolen - I know four people personally this has happened to although not always for a mortgage. The pre-approval also weeds out the looky-loos. The people who are not really ready to buy won't make the effort to get the pre-approval. Sellers want the pre-approval because they don't want people traipsing through their houses who can't possibly afford to buy it. I've seen very high-end homes require pre-approval just for the showing, but this has become more rare I think in the past year or so. The market is still fragile, so they don't want to take their house off the market unless there's a reasonable probability that the contract won't fall apart in three weeks because it turns out that the buyer can't get a loan. I see it pretty often in MLS (in the Realtor remarks where you won't see it on realtor.com) that the instructions specify a certain contract and pre-approval or POF with submission.

Its likely because they are used to going indoors at night. You might not be aware, but you may have neighbors who normally allow the birds to sleep indoors at night, safe from predators, bad whether and nuisances like biting ants who are attracted to the sugar scent from the birds. Hummers are very intelligent and when they do not feel safe, they look for a place where they will be safe. I have several feeders in my yard and fountains with clean drinking and bathing water year round. In Las Vegas where I live, I have costas, Anna's and caliope hummers as year round residents. However, we do have cold weather occasionally, rain (once or twice a year), wind and sand/ dust storms and extreme heat, all of which are preferentially avoided by hummers. Mainly because they are unable to maintain body temperature at rest, weigh less than your average raspberry and torpor (Hibernation like sleep) in temps below 40 degrees is risky for them because if they do not consume enough nectar beforehand, they may simply never wake up. I have about 10-20 nightly feathered bed and breakfast guests, who are welcomed to sleep indoors in safety with plenty of access to nectar and bug protein from my daughters pet crickets eggs which are produced in abundance daily and placed in dishes for the feathered visitors. In addition to hummingbirds we also occasionally have finches and more frequently verdins, who like hummers, also enjoy nectar and bug eggs, and are just barely larger than a hummingbird themselves but with shorter beaks that do not fit into traditional feeders easily. For them we provide tiny dishes of nectar that are open on top so larger birds can easily drink also. We keep our balcony door open daily from about 6:00 AM until about 7:00 PM or whenever it gets dark and the birds come and go as they please. Sometimes one will show up after we have closed the door and tap on door to be let in, at which point as long as someone is there to hear them, they are let in. We have never had a bird fly into the window accidentally, mostly because they are fairly dirty/ dusty on the outside and we keep them that way on purpose (to make the glass more visible to the birds). In the absence of dust even water spots on glass are sufficient to alert a bird that there is a surface there. They very quickly learn to recognize windows and mirrors when they are exposed in non-threatening conditions, and fortunately, we have never had any bird injure themselves. They will tap on glass by hovering directly in front of it, and gently tapping their beak and wings on the glass, Which is exactly what it sounds like your birds are doing also. When they do this It is not the same as accidentally flying into a window that they cannot see, and they do not harm themselves by doing this, as they are in complete control and fully aware of the glass in front of them. They are simply trying to get your attention. One of the funniest things that we frequently see is when one of the male hummers (Especially costas) will fly into the bathroom and hover in front of the mirror as if checking himself out for an extended period of time. Yet they are smart enough to realize that it is not another bird they are seeing , but actually just their own reflection. I was very nervous about this the 1st time I saw it, but in the garden I noticed that males will do this with still water as well (when they can see their reflection), so they must interpret mirrors as vertical water somehow. They also frequently test out their mating display in this manner, and it is quite entertaining and humorous to see how they carefully view it from every possible angle before departing from the mirror in search of a female to test it out on. Females on the other hand seem far less interested in mirrors and I've never seen them performing the same "selfie" checks. All hummers do like and are attracted to light, just like moths. It is unusual but I have on several occasions seen night flying hummers, especially in well-lit neighborhoods where there is no competition at the feeders after dark and an abundance of their preferred insect food hovering around light sources for them to easily catch and eat. This is usually younger Birds who are bullied during the day and this is their only chance to eat. If you need to get a hummer out of your house, you just play a game called "follow the light", turning on the light in the direction where you want the hummer to go, while turning off the lights where you do not want the hummer to go. It is best not to do this at night, Rather just wait till morning after your hummer has slept and there is plenty of light outside for your hummer to safely fly without injuring himself by running into something he can't see in the dark. You should not try to capture or box your hummer, simply let him sleep wherever he feels comfortable, as long as it is in a safe room free of cats or dogs, however, It would be very unusual for a hummer to enter a house with either of them present. Then you will find that as soon as the sun comes up, if you open the same door the hummer came in through he will quickly show himself out (Weather permitting). If the weather is bad he may choose to stay a bit longer. Under no circumstances should you allow him to remain indoors during daytime hours (even if the weather is bad), unless you have nectar for him available. Fortunately nectar is very easy to make, simply take bottled water and mix 1 part pure granulated sugar (Do not use organic because it is not refined and has too much iron for the birds) with 4 parts water. Then place the mixture Into a clean red, orange, yellow, pink, purple or any variation there of colored dish where your bird can see and safely access it. If you do not have any of those colors you can also use a clear dish with a piece of colored paper or cloth underneath it. Homers are not picky about this and Are more attracted to the smell of the nectar so the color is less important In an indoor situation, especially if there is no other option available. The level of liquid should be no more than half an inch below the rim of the dish so that the bird can drink it either hovering or perched on the rim of the dish, You should also provide a dish of Bottled water for drinking. This Dish does not need to be colored, Clear is actually preferred but white dishes also work fantastic for plain water. They will often drink plain water especially in warmer weather and frequently bathe in it as well Because it is very important for them to keep their feathers clean and free of the many sweet scents they come in contact with to avoid attracting ants etc. which would sting/bite them and also predators looking to eat them. Keep in mind, the above should only be done on a very temporary basis, in the case of unsafe conditions outside for your bird to return Immediately, and as a result, your bird refuses to leave. ***You CANNOT keep a hummer confined indoors or as a pet because they require up to 300 Small flying insects per day for protein to stay alive, and can only survive a few days on nectar alone so It is critical that they always have access to return outdoors as soon as they awaken to feed **** AND *****Additionally, they are protected under the federal migratory bird act**** so it Is not only unsafe but also ILLEGAL to interfere with their freedom by caging, confining or otherwise denying them access to their natural habitat at will or intentionally compromising their safety in any way****". The only exception to this law is *if you find an injured bird* you may be allowed to confine and transport the bird to a licensed rehabilitation facility or if emergency care is required, the nearest veterinary clinic who will see to it that it is given the care necessary and then transferred to a wildlife rehabilitation facility once stable. Hummers also are attracted to mist or flowing water, (especially on hot days) and warm water and steam on colder days. I have on more than 1 occasion had one or more of our bed and breakfast guests fly into the shower in the morning with me. Fortunately, they fly pretty well, even when soaking wet, and enjoy flying through the warm mist from the shower several times before perching atop your towel racks (on the fluffiest one they can find) to Complete their grooming routine :) As unusual as it may sound, this semi-domestic behavior is not uncommon for hummers and it's very likely that the birds that visit you may have either been rehabilitated and released or simply are frequent guests In other people's homes at night. Just be sure that if you do allow them in, which in some cases (especially very cold temperatures at night or bad storms) may save their lives, that you make sure they are in a safe location, Away from Open flames, Chemicals, Pesticides, and Other animals and that they always have nectar, water and *open access* during sunlight hours to go back outside whenever they wish to do so. And finally, Never turn out lights while they are flying as they cannot see in the dark and could injure them self flying into something. It's important to wait untill they have landed In a safe location before turning lights out. Curtain tops, and tall house plants are favorite spots to sleep. Once you turn out the lights regardless of the time of day or night your hummer will immediately assume a sleeping position with his beak pointed straight in the air and feathers fluffed, after this point you should not disturb him in any way until morning when he will naturally awaken at first light and begin looking for the exit to conduct his daily routine outdoors.