((^)) To Romeo! Pup had his 5th birthday last week ((^))

My new hummingbird feeder is red, the nectar is red and the flowers below it are red salvia. Where is that hummingbird!!?

We now have doves, Mr & Mrs, hanging out in the garden, under the bird feeder ((L))

Oh dear. No, it wasn't Romeo's birthday, that we know of. I was trying to copy the kitty icon from the fodors smileys page and the birthday cake is next to it and I goofed.

But a very happy belated birthday to Pup anyway. What kind of cake does he like? Romeo's fave is Chocolate
Mous(s)e.

I can't resist.......... remember the "chocolate mouse" in "Rosemary's Baby?" :-)

Scarlett:
Oh my, the red dye in your syrup
is harmful to the bird. You do not
really need it to be red as once the
hummers know where the feeder(s)
is they will return. You can use my
2C sugar/5 C water recipie and store
any extra in the 'frig.
R5

razzledazzle, not red syrup, but red colored hummingbird nectar, bought from the bird shop nearby. I read the package, it is safe :)
Marilyn, Pup had a greenie..shaped like a giant toothbrush :D

The nectar is powdered like Kool Aid and one mixes it with water at home..

Nix on the red dye -- hummingbirds will find it by smell as well as red in feeder. Don't be discouraged if they don't start coming around right away -- esp. if you've had a lot of wet weather. They start to show up more often when it's hot and dry, and also just before they start migration -- they "tank up" before they leave. My recipe says 1 part sugar to 4 parts water and then boil it gently for several minutes.

From my experience as a wild bird docent-there is some linkage to tumors of the
biil and liver. I urge you to reconsider
especially if you are using the Perky Pet brand. The red dye is controversial
and has never been proven "safe" for the birds. The FDA has approved tylenol
but it would kill my cat. Things we might eat may harm our pets and wildlife. Why take a chance-especially when the red syrup is
useless in attracting these wonderful creatures and may be harmful as well?
R5

Nectar, syrup whatever-it's the DYE.
R5

OK OK! I will go back to the bird store tomorrow and get colorless nectar!!
Thanks~ ((F))

Scarlett, you only need to boil 1 part sugar to 4 parts water, as someone above suggested, and you have your own nectar! Cheaper............ :-)

Scarlett if we have to wait for dry weather for them to come back, it might be best just to ditch the entire effort...no matter what the name/color! Dry weather won't be back until about October.

I wonder if your red tubular flowers that are coral honeysuckle? We had a wall of it by our Dallas pool and they seemed to love it. At first I thought they were Texas-sized bugs flying around...they weren't much bigger than a big bug! That plant, if that's what it is, is also notorious for attracting stinging catepillars in Dallas. Bright green things...steer clear if you see them!

Good for you, Scarlett!
=;
Consider making your own syrup as
you are guarranted no preservatives
or anything that would not occur
naturally in the wild. The sugar syrup
is only a "charging" fuel for these
little guys and gals. Their main
staple is small insects. Also,
they have nearly no sense of smell
so any scented potion is useless.
Thanks again for re-considering!
:)>-
R5

Our hummingbirds LOVE what we call cigar plants--also called firecracker plants and although they are annuals (and hard to find up here in the north), I thought they were common in Florida. They also like my Dropmore scarlet honeysuckle, pineapple sage and all colors of salvia. I have a feeder near the flowers, but they hardly ever go to that--they prefer the flowers.

It seems like we see them most often after 4th of July into September--when they are travelling back south, although this year we have had them since May. I thought the cicadas would keep them away, but they were here at that time too.

OO , the red flowers are Salvia.
The red nectar is all suctrose and red dye# 4, no flavor no scent.
I will get some super fine sugar and make my own. I would feel terrible if I made one of those precious little hummers sick.
Such responsibilities, feeding the wildlife :)

The new Babies will need your
feeder(s)! July ends the breeding and lots of newbies and their parents
will be fattening up for their next migration back across the Gulf of
Mexico and on into Central America in Oct.and Nov.
R5

Winged Migration is an amazing piece of work. My in-laws gave it to us for a Christmas present and it was fascinating to watch.
Re hawks, we hung a flat bird feeder from an apple tree in our house back in Vancouver, WA. Very popular with the birds and the occasional squirrel. Then all of a sudden, almost nobody would stop by. Couldn't understand it until one day we saw perched in the branches about three feet up, a hawk looking for easy pickings. Not fair!
In Sequim, my inlaws used to get tons of quail. They were a crackup to watch, the lady quail so round and puffy, the males with their silly top knot flopping into their faces. The male would stand guard while his lady friends ate, but they were so rude...as soon as they finished, they would fly off, leaving the poor male to fend for himself.

Regarding our adorable creatures....... had to report a discussion with my brother this past weekend. He has a little fishpond inset in his yard, lives in a gorgeous heavily wooded area with a creek in Western N.C. He had this wire mesh cover secured over his pond, and told me that the "adorable raccoons" and the blankety-blank possums take every one of his fish if he doesn't cover the pond. He is not nearly as enamored of these raccoons as some of us are!:-d (I won't tell you what he'd like to do to them!)

BTilke, the females " so round and puffy, the males with their silly top knot flopping into their faces. The male would stand guard while his lady friends ate,..."
That sounds like People ! LOL

This morning, looking out the kitchen window, I saw one of my large hanging plants swinging madly .. no wind, curious, I walked out onto the patio. There was a squirrel, lolling in the swinging plant, just like a person in his own little hammock in the shade :)

Scarlett, we have a feeder strung on a wire between trees, to keep the squirrels away BUT, of course, we have a couple of "Mary Lou Rettons" who manage to get on there and do a high-wire act, trying to get to the feeder. It's hysterical when they flip off, and go sailing to the ground!:-)