Hummingbird nests..

[turd]

Anyone have hummingbirds that nest near you? Wisdom? We keep a feeder out most of the summer and have visitors. We have the feeder near/on our deck in a newer neighborhood complete with smaller trees and shrubs (8-10 yo). We have a bur oak we tree spaded in when we moved in, so is the largest tree around. They occupy the tree, but we don't know where they nest.

Can we encourage nesting in our tree, and how do we do that? Will they occupy nests we put up in the tree for them, or do they prefer to build their own, and where do they build them?

 

[Dan in MI]

My question is how do you even know or see them? Aren't they about the size of a thimble?

EDIT - You made me look to verify what I remembered.

 

[Papalote]

I have never found a nest but we do have them around year around. Of course there a lot more of them when they migrate through.

 

[arfmel]

We've found their nests on occasion. Usually by listening for their wings as the come from and go to it. They're made of spiderweb and what appears to be lichen but is probably little pieces of leaves. (I've never seen lichen around here). The nests we find are typically on branches about 8’ off the ground. The nests are tiny but somewhat stretchy to accommodate the chicks as they grow.

 

[vito]

I just need to figure out how to get them back to my feeder. For years we had a good number of hummingbirds coming to the feeder by my back deck and I found it fascinating to watch them. Then two years ago I had the outside of my house painted. For the two weeks that the painting project was going on, I had to take down all of the bird feeders that I normally have hanging around the house. When the painting project was done, I reinstalled all of the feeders. The other birds came back pretty quickly, but for the last two years we have rarely had even a single hummingbird coming by to feed. I have no idea what I can do to get them to return.

 

[coach]

My question is how do you even know or see them? Aren't they about the size of a thimble?

EDIT - You made me look to verify what I remembered.


View attachment 42800

We have plenty of hummingbirds but no wonder I’ve never seen a nest.

 

[Wvfarrier]

They love nesting in our Arbor Vita trees

 

[DOUBLESHOT]

We've been feeding them for a few years but don't know where they nest.

 

[turd]

^^^Nice shot! We have been feeding for a while also. We live in a newer suburban neighborhood (our house is 8YO). People are too cheap or too stupid to plant trees and shrubs. We moved in some decent sized oak trees, one maybe 30' from the feeder. The hummingbirds are here every year, so we finally figured out they are nesting in the nearest oak tree. Never seen a nest, but the little ones show up on schedule every year.

We love it.

 

[Jim Walsh]

I’ve only seen a nest once 45 years ago. Thought I had stepped on a hornet nest due to the buzzing but I was being warned off by a hummingbird. The nest was the size of an acorn and there were eggs in it. I backed off immediately and left the area.

 

[arfmel]

They nest in our pecan trees. And, yes, it appears they use spider webs and bits of leaves to create the nests.

 

[WAYNO]

We see these little birds often. I have no idea where they live, but they often come to check me out when I am watering.

 

[Dan in MI]

My wife’s family had a cabin up north. Hummingbirds were beyond common. On a walk one day I sat down to take it all in and heard hummingbirds zooming by. I looked up and it was like I was at a freeway interchange. They were going by north/ south and east/west. Almost continuous traffic. If I moved 20 feet in any direction I didn’t see them. I went back to that place many times. It was always the same. A slight distance from that particular spot was quiet. I have no idea why, but it was very cool to experience.

 

[Kevin]

I really like hummingbirds, and we’ve tried the feeders, but didn’t seem to attract any.

But here at our house we do have a pair of mourning doves that have come back 4 years in a row now to nest and have baby birds. It’s right outside our back door, so when they are here we just leave them alone. It’s usually this time of the year.

Here is one of them waiting for food from the other. They seem to take turns. This picture is taken through the glass door. We don’t disturb the pot the rest of the year.

 

[DOUBLESHOT]

We get a family every spring as soon as we hang a flower basket out front.

 

[Lt Choate]

I have never placed feeders for hummingbirds specifically, but do have multiple feeders for birds during the late fall and winter. Mostly sunflower seeds, etc. and man, do they flock to them. Especially in the hard winter time.

 

[XUSNORDIE]

We have lots of hummers. I love watching them. Every year we a bully hummer that sits on a nearby branch and dive bombs the others and knocks them off the feeder. They become very used to us. One time a couple summers ago two started fighting and go tangled in my Wife's hair. That was a show!

As for the doves.......they just make me hungry.....dove poppers are one of my favorite thigs to grill!

 

[JackBull]

Use cane sugar in water, not the stuff they sell for hummingbirds.

Plant red bee balm in your garden. Hummers love it.

 

[Wvfarrier]

Use cane sugar in water, not the stuff they sell for hummingbirds.

Plant red bee balm in your garden. Hummers love it.

They go nuts over our butterfly bushes as well.

 

[Wvfarrier]

How about a hummingbird moth

 

[vito]

I'm trying to be optimistic about having hummingbirds show up this Spring. For years we had them coming all day long to our feeders, but back in 2020 we were hit with a tornado that took down a total of 13 of the trees on my property, leaving only one huge oak tree pretty much intact and one enormous pine tree where the tornado had sheered off all the limbs on one side but left the rest as is. Every since then we have had virtually no hummingbird activity. The year after the tornado my hummingbird feedes were taken over by bees, and they seemed to scare off the little birds, but for whatever reason, the bees have not returned. We are probably about a month away from when the first hummingbirds will arrive, it at all.

 

[Dan in MI]

How about a hummingbird moth

We get those too. They are very cool

 

[turd]

^^^We get them as well, fun to watch in the evening as we grill on the deck, usually right about dusk through early evening.

 

[Lo-Bo]

We have alot of hummingbirds. We have a half dozen feeders hanging from trees but their favorite is the large glass feeders that hang from our eves in front of our large front window. Wife boils water then adds sugar and red food dye for the feeders. Hummingbirds are very dominate of their food source and will chase others away. We have found nests at different times on the ground after large wind storms. They nest in our tall pine trees but they will sit in other trees watching the feeders. If we sit near their feeders that will hoover around us at times close to our heads and then they take off. We have two flowering crab apple that attract them. Red flowers are also an attraction.

 

[XUSNORDIE]

red food dye for the feeder

That's a no no if you want to keep the birds healthy...

 

[trebor44]

 

[Bennj1]

I have in-laws who live at the base of RMNP in Colorado. They have several hummingbird feeders just outside the big kitchen window. The birds visit often and are really neat to watch, only downside is they have to take the feeders in every night because of the bears. They have a bunch of pine trees on the property.

 

[XUSNORDIE]

only downside is they have to take the feeders in every night because of the bears

I feel their pain.....it becomes routine eventually....our "visitors" have already begun waking up and rummaging around....hungry and grumpy.....everything seems early this year.....toms have been gobbling, gold finches are starting to show up, juncos are thinning out....soon we will be complaining about the heat and humidity.

 

[peachhead]

My question is how do you even know or see them? Aren't they about the size of a thimble?

EDIT - You made me look to verify what I remembered.


View attachment 42800

That is just awesome. Now I'm going to be looking for them.

 

[trebor44]

Post Fledging: the nest was on my back patio (not the first time either).