Feeder Fodder

Where do they nest the best?

April 22nd, 2007

Greetings Feeders!

This is my favorite site for tracking the migration of the hummers:
http://www.hummingbirds.net/map.html

Lanny does us a great service in providing this excellent self-reporting tool for tracking the coming of the hummingbirds. According to this map, they’re in Kentucky, but I haven’t seen ours yet.

Here’s the question I have at the moment: What extent of human enticement (e.g., the addition of feeders and flowers) does it take to create a new nesting location for hummers? I’ve been having an e-mail conversation with a customer who now has hanged about 80+ feeders to conduct an experiment that may determine this. Notwithstanding the high number of other potential variables that could complicate such an experiment — such as feeder-hanging activity of his neighbors, or other local/regional changes — it sounds like an interesting experiment.

Any other observations out there? Can anybody enlighten us regarding the critical-mass of added food sources that would create new nesting preferences among hummingbirds? Thanks for any thoughts/observations!

Happy Feeding,
Chris Whelan

Entry Filed under: Hummingbird News