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Get 2 feeders and put them near windows in your house so you never need go outside to see them. I have one situated at head level over my picnic table and see them come and go all day. It's cool to see one sit in a tree; I can do that from my deck.
They are easier to find than bluebirds where I live.
I have pretty much made it a point in my life to see birds..
I'm not an avid birdwatcher or anything I just find the little creatures amazing.
I love the way they fly, glide, bathe, look around and take life in..
I have had caged birds in the past... My lovebird is going on 20 years old..
Came a point about 10 years ago I said to myself.. "I will never have another caged bird"
I simply can not do it... Birds do not belong in cages
Mind you all...,
Peaches is very happy is out a lot and sometimes rides in my shirt pocket for trips to the store..
Very tame, spoon and syringe fed as a chick.. he had a mate and when he was younger... never kept them in the same cage after she decided to bite his toes off..
Marbles ( Peaches mate ) is still alive and well.. their Vets assistant has had her for bout 10 years..
Still pretty mean from what I get out of it..
I want very much to see and interact with a hummingbird..
I have had scrub jays land on my hand for bread countless times..
I want to see a hummingbird... Not even sure how to go about it..
Or if I can even see one in Sarasota, Florida
..
Other than when I visited Costa Rica and saw tons of hummingbirds, the only way I've managed to see them is by being around feeders. If you can, set one out and maybe they will start to show up.
I live in Riverview, a suburb of Tampa, and I have seen hummingbirds here feasting on my Mexican petunias. I've never seen them in the heat of the day, but around 5:30 am, when I go out to get the newspaper, I've seen them many times.
After you've seen a hummingbird, try to spot a hummingbird MOTH.
Other than drab coloration....you'd mistake them for a hummingbird if you didn't know there was such a thing.
P.S. Omaha zoo has a bunch flying free in their desert dome if you ever go there. You might want to check around, there may be similar places in Florida.
I have pretty much made it a point in my life to see birds..
I'm not an avid birdwatcher or anything I just find the little creatures amazing.
I love the way they fly, glide, bathe, look around and take life in..
I have had caged birds in the past... My lovebird is going on 20 years old..
Came a point about 10 years ago I said to myself.. "I will never have another caged bird"
I simply can not do it... Birds do not belong in cages
Mind you all...,
Peaches is very happy is out a lot and sometimes rides in my shirt pocket for trips to the store..
Very tame, spoon and syringe fed as a chick.. he had a mate and when he was younger... never kept them in the same cage after she decided to bite his toes off..
Marbles ( Peaches mate ) is still alive and well.. their Vets assistant has had her for bout 10 years..
Still pretty mean from what I get out of it..
I want very much to see and interact with a hummingbird..
I have had scrub jays land on my hand for bread countless times..
I want to see a hummingbird... Not even sure how to go about it..
Or if I can even see one in Sarasota, Florida
..
Easy to entice hummingbirds. Buy a hummzinger hummingbird feeder. Here is a link to one on Amazon.
Make a solution of tap water (or filtered) and white sugar. You're supposed to use 4 parts water to one part sugar. You're supposed to boil the solution to sterilize it, and then cool to room temp, then fill the clean feeder. No red dye needed. Hang it where you can see it - we put it close to our slider door in the kitchen. It helps to hang a pot with red flowers, preferably red trumpet flowers, right next to the feeder, to help the birds notice it. Once they've found the feeder, there is no need for the flowers, although they like trumpet type flowers very much, often more than the feeder. Clean and change solution frequently.
Many times, people see hummingbirds the same day they put out the feeder! Hummingbirds are fascinating to watch and hear. The males arrive earlier than the females, and stake out their territories. They then defend their feeding sites ferociously. Incredible experience to be dive-bombed by a bird who weighs under an ounce when I go out to change the feeder.
Take heart! Follow these instructions, and you will surely be seeing hummingbirds quite soon! As you can see from this ruby-throated hummingbird migration map from last year, you can expect to see the males arrive in about a month.
I am in MN, and I had hummingbird feeders last summer, plus tons of red flowers. I had anywhere from 2-10 hummingbirds a day for most of the summer. The funniest thing was they HATED my dog! He would go out to do his business, and these tiny little hummers would be buzzing him, like attacking him - dive-bombing and chirping! He mostly ignored them, but once in a while, they must have gotten too close to his head, and he'd shake his head like crazy! It was pretty funny. They were not always crazy about me working in the flower beds either....
Our first experience with them was when we went camping with our daughter in CO. We bought a feeder at a gift shop along with some nectar and brought it back to our camp site. Our little girl held the feeder in her hands and the birds came and drank from it! She sat very still until they flew away and then she squealed!!!
We live in CO now and hang feeders from our deck. (We have hummingbirds as yard-pets just like deer)!
After you've seen a hummingbird, try to spot a hummingbird MOTH.
Other than drab coloration....you'd mistake them for a hummingbird if you didn't know there was such a thing.
P.S. Omaha zoo has a bunch flying free in their desert dome if you ever go there. You might want to check around, there may be similar places in Florida.
I was going to mention that when easybreezy mentioned that they sometimes look like moths.
Get a hummingbird feeder and plant a lot of red flowers. They seem to really like red petunias!!
They sometimes look like giant bees.
I agree, planting lots of red and certain other flowers, those with nectar and more trumpet shaped, are great for attracting them. I 've had them come to my flowers even when there is no feeder.
of course, I'm not in Fla, but Oregon.
here's a list of some hummingbird garden flowers...
I have been fortunate to see a few Hummingbirds. It is incredible how they are able to stay in one place while flying.
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