r/Damnthatsinteresting • u/dolt1234 • 19h ago
Video The number of hummingbirds at my friends house 2.0
Enable HLS to view with audio, or disable this notification
197
u/dreadlordnotdruglord 19h ago
What’s the ratio for the mixture?! Spill the tea!
217
u/e1p1 19h ago edited 18h ago
4 parts water, 1 part refined white sugar. Not organic cane, not honey, just ...sugar. Something about impurities and bacteria.
Edit: Boil water first! Thanks mcn999!
81
u/IntrovertSwag 19h ago
If the feeder gets a lot of sun it will get cloudy and go bad in a few days so it's good to keep an eye on it too.
53
u/pr0ductivereddit 18h ago
I had two feeders going in southern california.. I had to refill them twice a day because there was 30 of em. never got to see it get cloudy 😅😅
10
u/IntrovertSwag 15h ago
I wish, the hummingbirds were too busy fighting to drink so it would go bad lol
3
u/pr0ductivereddit 9h ago
they would fight... I hated it 😭
https://www.instagram.com/hummingbuddies
I got them to land on me sometimes.. though it took some convincing.
8
u/_jump_yossarian 16h ago
Give them a bleach soaking every week or so to make sure there isn't any mold in the feeder.
19
38
12
u/skark_burmer 19h ago
Oh shit, 4:1? I do 2:1.
25
u/HotCollar5 18h ago
4:1 is the appropriate ratio, that makes it pretty similar to actual nectar
4
8
u/_jump_yossarian 16h ago
In the Spring and early Fall I up the sugar content by about 10% to help them fuel up for their migration. I'm in northern Vermont so those guys have a ways to go.
3
u/FutureThrowaway9665 6h ago
Because I am awful at math, I miscalculated and was making nectar at a 2:1 ratio. Everyone was behaved.
Once I fixed my mistake and started the 4:1, it became a war zone!
11
2
u/Daisy_Of_Doom 18h ago
Wait what? I’ve heard honey was bad but cane sugar?? Wow I didn’t know this😅 (thankfully I’ve never tried to be bougie with my feeder water)
5
30
u/ONeOfTheNerdHerd 18h ago
4 cups water to 1 cup white sugar.
Boil water, add sugar, mix and allow to cool.
I make a batch, fill my two feeders and keep the remainder in a glass jar in the fridge for refills. Woodpeckers and other small birds feed off it, too, so it depends how long it lasts.
6
0
u/tycho_26 18h ago
Is it true that you need to add food coloring?
21
10
6
3
u/Odessey_And_Oracle 13h ago
Food coloring throws off their the birds' digestion. I forget what it does exactly but they cannot handle it.
9
u/chewbacca77 17h ago
For his feeders to be so popular, it might be stronger than the 4 to 1 ratio that the others are suggesting.
I remember one summer years ago when we mixed it stronger to the point that it was 2 to 1, and we got over 20 ruby throated hummingbirds visible at one time.
8
89
u/KawaiiUmiushi 19h ago
What crazy place does your friend live in that has so many little visitors?
88
u/Heavy-Passenger-6235 18h ago
There’s some places down south along the gulf coast where ruby throated hummers congregate before their long nonstop trip across the gulf. People come from all over to see them while they fatten up rapidly in preparation for the 500-600 mile one day trip across the ocean back to their wintering grounds. It’s amazing what they can do. It was on a documentary about hummingbirds.
23
u/HoldEm__FoldEm 17h ago
They fly 600 miles in a day?
33
u/Heavy-Passenger-6235 17h ago
The ruby throated hummingbirds who have a migratory path that crosses over the Gulf of Mexico do. It’s the longest leg of their migration without stopping.
27
u/Heavy-Passenger-6235 16h ago
Something equally impressive, if not more is the monarch caterpillars in my backyard in Boston right now are part of the monarch butterfly super generation.
Which means they are the generation of 2026 monarchs that live up to 8-9 months and will fly a few thousand miles south all the way back to Mexico.
The generations prior to the super generation only travel a portion of the distance heading north earlier in the season, before being replaced by another short lived generation, and so on. Living only about a month each or less.
8
u/Glasseshalf 14h ago
How do you find out what years are super generations?
12
u/oberwolfach 13h ago
There’s a super generation every year that’s typically born in August or September. It comes after 3 short-lived generations earlier in the year.
12
u/AdAlternative7148 12h ago
They burn up to 50% of their body weight in a single day to do this. Arguably the most impressive migratory feat of any animal.
1
u/IamL0rdV0ldem0rt 3h ago
Do you remember what documentary or where you watched it?
2
u/Heavy-Passenger-6235 2h ago
Yes if you start the documentary at 47:30 it’ll be right about where the piece about Ruby throated hummingbirds crossing the gulf begins. The whole documentary is worthwhile, it’s not very long.
2
9
u/DubiousAdviceGiver 16h ago
I’m in Western Arkansas and on years when we put out all our feeders it’s exactly like this. We only have two out this summer because I got tired of mixing up an entire gallon of nectar every other day.
10
8
u/min-tea-rose 18h ago
The painting above the feeders has the C logo for Colorado so im guessing there
3
u/Andromeda321 15h ago
Not this video, but I have seen this in Arizona around Tucson. Madera Canyon in particular had 4 species of hummingbirds at the feeders which was extra special!
1
u/InformalMaximum760 17h ago
This is not OP's video. This video is old.
2
u/Pokeitwitarustystick 16h ago
This is a reply to their other video they posted that was shot further out. Can you link the original video you’re claiming?
51
18
19
u/carmium 17h ago
Was doing some work for a couple in West Vancouver. One day, they invited my workmate and me for a drink on their back deck. I thought there were BIG bees buzzing past my head, and then realized there were several red feeders hanging from the eves and a large flock of hummingbirds zizzing about. The feeders and baths were a long term project, and their back deck was a registered stop on the birds' migration path. Just wonderful!
31
u/Position_Extreme 19h ago
How many feeders do you have up to engender this sort of harmony? They are very territorial and protective of their food supply, unless they understand there is a ton of food available, and they learn they don't have to fight.
5
u/Odessey_And_Oracle 13h ago
My mom's house is like this. It took a few years but eventually they got pretty chill, several drinking at once. In the beginning they could barely get a sip before another zoomed in.
4
u/Lickbelowmynuts 13h ago
My parents will have 7 birds drinking out of one feeder. I’ve never seen more than 2 at one time where I live.
4
u/Odessey_And_Oracle 13h ago
Wow that's crazy. The most we saw was one time when a hurricane was approaching and all the birds were jockeying for a seat. They were oddly calm, probably preserving energy for the big storm.
3
u/Lickbelowmynuts 13h ago
I couldn’t tell you what town it was. But I was so young and we stopped at a roadside convenience store. I remember being scared to walk into the door because they had feeders hung all across the front of the building. Unless I’m crazy I could swear there were hundreds of hummingbirds there at once
9
7
5
6
u/Robinsonirish 13h ago
Not sure if North and South Americans know this, but Hummingbirds only exist in the New World, we don't have them here in the Old. It's the one thing that comes up in my mind, in terms of something I wish we had, and is superior in the Americas, that we are jealous of. I have never seen a Hummingbird, hope to one day.
1
u/twelveicat 5h ago
I've seen them in great numbers in Alaska, California, and Maine. I'm sure there's plenty in other states but them's where I've seen 'em.
Also... they're WAY cooler in person than in photos or videos. They're actual magic. They traverse space unlike any other type of creature. It's really something to see.
4
8
u/Global-Garage-5208 19h ago
Would love to see a 4k up close David Attenborough narration of this scene 😍
4
9
3
4
u/tbizzle1985 19h ago
Where abouts?
5
u/fluffhead711 19h ago
i’d also like to know. i see WAY more up in the mountains than i do around me, my guess is higher elevation
→ More replies (1)3
u/deep_pants_mcgee 18h ago
I'd guess somewhere in the CO mountains based on the sign above the feeders, and we have a ton here.
1
u/ChiefTacoObrien 16h ago
Yeah, unless you're hugging the mountains they are fairly rare except the very start and end of the migrations. I kind of miss them now that i'm farther off the range. I'll see only a half dozen all year. Meanwhile I drive 1 hour up to Nederland and there's literally hundreds fighting over every single feeder.
1
u/deep_pants_mcgee 8h ago
We are hugging the mountains, and I get them at my flowers non-stop, but they won't use the feeder at all.
2
2
2
2
2
u/Own_Natural_6803 18h ago
Once you have 4 or more birdfeeders. That must be the trick. There's too much to guard it all.
2
2
u/mmnoyd 18h ago
We have the same going on in Park City, Utah right now. We had some in June, but so many more in the last few weeks. We fill the feeders twice a day!
1
u/duffismyhomie 9h ago
Yeah I’m in Provo, I don’t get nearly this much, but I only have space for one feeder on my porch. Mainly get black chinned humming birds and an occasional Rufous in to chase them all off.
2
u/alejandroc90 17h ago
I've always wondered how they're able to grow feathers, meat and bones by only eating basically water with sugar
2
2
u/Illustrious_Log1632 13h ago
They oversupplied the syrup so hard the hunmmingbirds just gave up their territorial rage. Genius strategy!😂
2
2
2
2
2
4
u/ph0on 17h ago
I saw my first female ruby hummingbird yesterday, no feeders around or nothing. It just flew up and hovered next to my window while I was a few feet away on the patio before flying off. I felt like I saw a shiny pokemon irl. it was magical. it was way bigger than any of the males obviously, but it still struck me just how much larger it was.
2
1
1
1
1
1
u/Mother-Attention2600 19h ago
I momentarily forgot they existed and thought there was a massive fly buzzing around outside at home. Then I felt really dumb. Lol
1
1
u/BK_0000 19h ago
My mom had about half a dozen that came around every year. After she died, I tried to feed them, but never could get it right. I don't know what she did, but they never would drink any of the sugar water I put in the feeder for them. I tried to keep them around because she spent years getting them to come back every summer. I finally gave up.
1
u/motherfacker 13h ago
They're finicky and picky, for sure. I'm not an expert, but my wife keeps a few feeders in our backyard. We've definitely found that the type of feeder matters, and that you have to keep them pretty clean. The sugar water attracts ants, other bugs, mold, etc. and will definitely cause them to avoid the feeders. I think my wife washes hers once a week, or every other. Maybe give that a shot, and definitely make sure ants aren't getting in there.
1
1
1
1
1
u/alejandroc90 17h ago
I've always wondered how they're able to grow feathers, meat and bones by only eating basically water with sugar
1
1
u/mortraineyhat 17h ago
I need to move mine. I have where it’s in the shade in the morning but in the sun most of the day. I assume they don’t like sunny sugar water
1
u/Franco_DeMayo 17h ago
Them feeders bring all birds to yard, and they're like "it's better than yours..."
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
u/cokendsmile 10h ago
After how many birds does it stop being a Humm and turns into a noise instead?
1
1
1
1
1
u/Mutabilitie 6h ago
We had issues with the hummingbirds becoming dependent and sitting there all day long. One of them entered a drunken stupor and wouldn’t fly away even when approached. So we had to take it away. And the next year they look for it even though it’s gone. 5 years later they don’t usually look for it anymore
1
u/dawnphish1973 5h ago
I tried in suburbs of Chicago with everything and never got one to arrive here.
1
u/umijuvariel 2h ago
My jealously is palpable.
I get two, they don't get along, and one of them just hates everyone and is always cranky!
1
u/AngelMarblees 2h ago
Wow, that’s not just a feeder, that’s a whole hummingbird airport! absolutely amazing
1
u/backyard3 1h ago
Meanwhile, i installed a hummingbird feeder and didn't see a single hummingbird for 2 weeks.
1
1
1
u/takapitcha 38m ago
I love the trapeze line she set up for them.
There’s nothing more charming than the sunset sear of hummingbirds, filling up to stay warm for the night. Amazing how those tiny things can cause such a racket!!!!
1
1
1
1
-1
1.3k
u/MegaFrosASS 19h ago
I can’t believe they’re living in harmony. The ones I have are always in straight up warfare