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rhintransit
Super Nomad
Posts: 1588
Registered: 9-4-2006
Location: Loreto
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the birds and the bees...
hummingbirds have been happily swarming my feeders for the past three months. just this week, the bees have arrived. I don't know that there is an
answer for this...I don't want to harm either species...but has anyone found some way to separate the two? the simplest thing would be to take down
the feeders for a number of days and hope the bees find other sources of food. and the hummers remember and come back. any other creative
suggestions?
reality\'s never been of much use out here...
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woody with a view
PITA Nomad
Posts: 15939
Registered: 11-8-2004
Location: Looking at the Coronado Islands
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Mood: Everchangin'
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feed them both. we need bees, shoot the hummers!
just kidding, sorta!
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Bajahowodd
Elite Nomad
Posts: 9274
Registered: 12-15-2008
Location: Disneyland Adjacent and anywhere in Baja
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Don't know where you are located, but when bees start sipping from the sugar water feeders, it's usually a sign that there's not alot of natural
sources i.e. flowers. You probably have a couple of options. Bear in mind that hummingbirds' diet also consists of spiders and other small insects,
while the bees don't have that luxury. You may actually do more harm to the bees if you take down the feeder. If the birds and the bees are peacefully
co-existing, I'd just leave well enough alone. If you do remove the feeder and wait until there's more available natural sources for the bees, the
hummers will return very quickly.
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Oso
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 2637
Registered: 8-29-2003
Location: on da border
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Mood: wait and see
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Same problem, no solution. We have almost a dozen feeders. It's not that I mind the bees so much, but the small ones somehow get through the bee
guards and drown. When my wife refills them she waves the bees off with a fly swatter before taking the feeders down.
All my childhood I wanted to be older. Now I\'m older and this chitn sucks.
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Bajahowodd
Elite Nomad
Posts: 9274
Registered: 12-15-2008
Location: Disneyland Adjacent and anywhere in Baja
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You point out the only real problem. Bees drowning inside the feeder. But given the good that's being done for all, maybe a few drowned bees is ok.
There's never been any evidence that bees shun natural sources of nectar in favor of the feeders. So, they just must be hungry.
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Timo1
Senior Nomad
Posts: 756
Registered: 11-2-2007
Location: Homeless
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Mood: Lovin every minute of it
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If the bees are too much of a nucence when you go to refill....try letting them sit dry for a while...sometimes a day or two...
don't worry..they'll come back
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Hooker33
Junior Nomad
Posts: 65
Registered: 6-23-2008
Location: Camano Is. WA
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I have the same problem with the bees. A friend suggested getting a spray bottle and filling it with vodka and spraying the bees with it. Not Grey
Goose but I found Oso Negro vodka cheaper than insecticide and the hummers seem to like it, the bees do not.
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k-rico
Super Nomad
Posts: 2079
Registered: 7-10-2008
Location: Playas de Tijuana
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"A friend suggested getting a spray bottle and filling it with vodka and spraying the bees with it."
Alcohol abuse!
I have some plants with red flowers about 3 feet from the patio table where I spend most of my life. The hummingbirds fly in, hover a moment staring
me down, and then suck some nectar.
I love it. I want to get some feeders.
Can somebody post a link about the best feeder types and pseudonectar to use? Any info appreciated. Thanks.
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rhintransit
Super Nomad
Posts: 1588
Registered: 9-4-2006
Location: Loreto
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k-rico I think the best feeders have ant guards on top...depressions where you put water to discourage ants. you also want a reasonable size for
your area/numbers of hummers. too small and you are filling all the time, too large and the solution molds. something that unscrews completely...all
sections...is easier to clean. the more feeding holes the better.
I use 1 to 4 sugar water, heat til it goes into solution. if you want, you can add some JIMACA to give it a red cast but the birds don't seem to care
about color. if it is cold, I'll go with a bit more sugar to water.
thanks for the suggestions. as everything seems to be blooming around here, I'm not sure that the bees are only at the feeder for lack of other
'food.'
[Edited on 1-18-2010 by rhintransit]
reality\'s never been of much use out here...
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mulegemichael
Super Nomad
Posts: 2310
Registered: 12-24-2007
Location: sequim,wa. and mulege
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Mood: up on step
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About a month ago, the honeybees showed up here at our feeders in clouds...they were here about two weeks then just disappeared as fast as they
came..so maybe you'll get lucky and they will just go away.
dyslexia is never having to say you\'re yrros.
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Osprey
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 3694
Registered: 5-23-2004
Location: Baja Ca. Sur
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For the hummmers
"Brother, Can You Spare Some Sugar"
Lynda lost all of her approval (or disapproval) power when she died two years ago. Well, almost all. Now, mostly I do what I want. I did get crazy
for awhile after she died and I did some things I wish I could take back -- especially the thing with Julio. Move on, don't dwell. That's the secret.
So I don't consider how she would feel about what I'm doing with the hummingbirds, with the feeders.
We always had at least two feeders going on the patio. She made up the sugar water, I filled them, watched to make sure they were never empty for
very long. She gave me the simple recipe and when she was not around I would boil the water, mix it up; four parts water, one part sugar. We would
buy the coarse-ground sugar at the little store behind the church -- five pesos a kilo, we could afford it.
Needless to say, the birds love the feeders. All my gringo neighbors in this little part of Mexico have the same kinds of feeders and enjoy watching
the birds drink, flit about, squabble over the right to drink, the territory, prospective mates, nesting areas nearby. Larger and more mature birds
are able to frighten off smaller species or young birds, keep them from drinking. It took me awhile to find out the biggest of the hummers in this
area are called Xantus. They comprise almost 80 percent of the hummingbirds we see here at the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula. My
Peterson book on Birds of Mexico does not even mention this bird. It is obviously not from Mexico.
This thing with birds, about where they live, has been under my skin for a long time. I want Mr. Peterson to consider publishing some books called
"Birds Sometimes Seen in Chicago But Which Live (for the other 364 days of the year) in Patagonia". Or how about, for the people in New Hampshire,
"THESE ARE NOT YOUR ROBINS -- THEY JUST CAME HERE THIS SPRING TO EAT YOUR BUGS -- WHEN IT GETS COLD THEY WILL GO HOME. THEY LIVE IN ECUADOR."
Since I can't find any of the hummingbirds (living off my charity and largess) in books of "BIRDS OF MEXICO", I guess these little beggars are just
passing through. They're bums. I've watched them - they do not take nectar from flowers. They prefer the free food -- let the bees, moths and
butterflies do all the work, pollinate the flowers. Little green pan-handlers. Our patios are tiny soup kitchens for these little con-birds. But we
feed them anyway, why not; they're so cute -- they'd better be cute, it's their con. Small, feisty, colorful comes to mind. Over the years I made
lots of jokes about them. Said I was putting Equal, Sugar-Twin in the feeders instead of sugar -- that they were dropping like flies, that I was
making earrings, jewelry from their feathers. When Lynda cleaned the sugar-covered feeders with hot water she would occasionally rinse them with
bleach to kill any germs. I quipped to my friends that she left just enough bleach in the feeder to insure that any tiny nests under our palapa would
produce less eggs per nest (maybe none).
These little jokes did get me thinking. Just for diversion I could put certain things in the feeders, added to the sugar-water to see how the birds
would be effected. The same birds seemed to be returning, day after day, it would give me a chance to see how they might tolerate subtle changes in
the daily fare at my soup kitchen. What would be the harm? They don't live here, they're just on their way someplace or maybe on their way home. If
they aren't adversely effected, they'll return to feed; if I've added things they can't tolerate, they will go to my neighbors, get a regular meal.
This is not some kind of obsession. I'm only going to use harmless things I already have, things in the medicine cabinet, under the sink in the
kitchen, the spice rack, the garage:
A quick check.
Aspirin (probably use the little Baby Aspirin)
Melox
Premarin (Lynda's menopause stuff)
Prozac (that should slow them down some)
Drano (way too strong)
Chili powder (well, they are passing through Mexico!)
Kahlua
Vodka
Paint thinner
Bleach
Soap
I'm not cruel. I don't want to kill the little things, just have some fun. No bleach. The stuff is way too strong, that was just joking. Kahlua.
It's already sweet, probably sweeter than sugar. I mixed three ounces of Kahlua into the sugar-water. This richer brew, darker than the usual mix, I
put in one feeder -- the other the regular stuff -- I can have my own "control group". The alcohol in the new potion amounts to less than 1% by
volume; probably not enough to get them drunk. I can always increase it as I go along. While I'm deciding what other chemical possibilities there
are in the house, I think I'll need some kind of identification device for this experiment.
In the bodega, next to the dreaded washing machine I can't seem to get working correctly, I found some Rit dye. Found three empty plastic Windex
bottles under the kitchen sink; mixed it up, set the spray nozzle just so for the desired distance, saturation and I was in business. The birds are
practically tame and in no time at all I had marked a dozen of the them with the harmless solution. I'm afraid I overdid one or two -- right in the
eye. They shook it off. The stuff works great; I could write testimonials for these Rit people -- the stuff is not even coming off in the fountain
when they bath. I am beginning to see some feathers in the water but that is probably just from normal molting.
Boy, if I thought they were colorful before! I did all red, all blue, all yellow, alternating side colors, head red, body yellow, like that. Now I
have to be more careful what I give them. Although I have not discussed this little pastime with my neighbors I'm sure they're going to be able to
read something in my look if they come over and say things like "do you know anything about the red and blue hummingbirds I found dead under my
feeders?"
While I'm being so scientific about things I might as well have some sort of journal. I think I'll make up some sheets on the computer. Maybe
something like: Bird One, Size and Color, Dyed (yes or no), feeder One, feeder Two. For now I'll just keep my observations irregular and informal;
just jot down what I'm observing that I think might be caused by the addition of the Kahlua.
Friday, February 12: The Kahlua feeder is definitely getting more action than the plain sugar one. One large yellow- dyed bird (with a spot of red
dye on his head) has taken over the darker feeder. He is very aggressive, insular. Seldom leaves the feeder unattended.
Sunday, February 14: Despite the actions of the combative yellow bird, the dark feeder had to be refilled while the other is still about half full.
None of the birds seem to be adversely effected by the Kahlua mixture -- they all seem to be thirsty for the dark stuff; enough that they seem to be
working in small teams -- two or three keep the big yellow bird busy while some of the others drink. An active team leader is a small one I tinted
all blue.
Friday, February 19: The big yellow bird is gone. There are some yellow feathers around. The blue one has taken over the Kahlua feeder. The feeder
is empty. He drinks at the other one but rushes back to protect his now empty feeder.
Monday, February 22: Increased the Kahlua mixture to 5 oz. in feeder one. Orioles came to the feeder twice today. The hummers were more aggressive
than I have ever seen them -- led by the small blue bird, they ran the Orioles off before they could drink. With the one that came right at dusk, I
think if I hadn't intervened they might have killed him.
(I'll have to change the experiment for the time being -- I drank the last of the Kahlua myself -- will get more next month in San Jose Del Cabo).
Wednesday, February 24: Both feeders now have only the regular sugar water. (Can't go to San Jose for Kahlua until my S.S. check comes in on the
7th). Very strange things happening. I left the empty Kahlua bottle on the table on the patio. The blue bird (and another unmarked bird) are
protecting the bottle as though it were a feeder. I swear to God. One or the other keeps guard over the thing from dawn to dusk.
Friday, March 4: Out of sugar. One feeder has been empty for two days; the other is almost empty. No more vodka till I get to town. Taking the
Prozac twice a day. The small wars continue. The fights over the bottle were fun to watch for awhile (from the bedroom, through the window -- they
won't let me near it). If they don't get some sugar-water tomorrow I'm afraid they will start killing each other. Let em. What do I care? Little
Ecuadoran drunks, bums.... Let em. I don't think I have to wait til dinner time for the other Prozac, I'll take it right after lunch.
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Pescador
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 3587
Registered: 10-17-2002
Location: Baja California Sur
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This is not fair at all, I got to laughing so damn hard that I fell off of my chair and bruised my butt on the hard tile floor. Then while tears were
streaming down my cheeks I went out to one of my friends who is part of the crew building my garage addition and brought him in to read the story.
Well, shoot, I forgot that he could not read or speak English so I had to do the translation and now he thinks I am completely looney tunes and he has
threatened to not finish my garage unless he has some kind of protection during the day.
Thank you, my friend, for filling my day with laughter.
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k-rico
Super Nomad
Posts: 2079
Registered: 7-10-2008
Location: Playas de Tijuana
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"Hummingbirds: Magic in the Air"
http://video.pbs.org/video/1380512531/
[Edited on 4-6-2010 by k-rico]
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monoloco
Elite Nomad
Posts: 6667
Registered: 7-13-2009
Location: Pescadero BCS
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All I got was "sorry video not available in your area due to rights restrictions"
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k-rico
Super Nomad
Posts: 2079
Registered: 7-10-2008
Location: Playas de Tijuana
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| Quote: | Originally posted by monoloco
All I got was "sorry video not available in your area due to rights restrictions" |
Darn, I forgot I'm using a proxy server with a US IP address. Lots of US video content is limited to US only.
[Edited on 4-6-2010 by k-rico]
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wilderone
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 3880
Registered: 2-9-2004
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how about 2 or 3 feeders - the birds and bees need all the help they can get.
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Mulegena
Super Nomad
Posts: 2412
Registered: 11-7-2006
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LMAO
OMG, Osprey you are WICKED!!
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Mulegena
Super Nomad
Posts: 2412
Registered: 11-7-2006
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Sorry, I was so taken by Osprey's story that I forgot: I think about a year ago there was a thread about bees and water and summer heat, something
like that.
I think it said to place a cloth over a bucket filled with water. They could drink and not drown.
Now if you fill the bucket with Kahlua, well, no telling if the buggers will ever polinate another flower.
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ecomujeres
Nomad
Posts: 299
Registered: 9-10-2006
Location: Mulege, BCS & Oakland, CA
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On a more "serious" note:
Xantus' hummingbirds (also known as Black-fronted hummingbirds) are endemic to Baja California Sur (i.e., found no where else). Petersons' guidebook
of Mexican Birds has them listed.
The Peterson's guides are unique in that if a bird is native to one area, but also shows up in another, it's not included in the "other" book. So, in
Mexican Birds, there are very few birds that are actually in Baja that are even mentioned, unless they are endemic or originate from mainland Mexico.
You have to look in the Western Birds for all but like 3 birds.
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DanO
Super Nomad
Posts: 1923
Registered: 8-26-2003
Location: Not far from the Pacific
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The Osprey, of course, is a bird of prey.
Thanks once again George for showing us that having way too much time on your hands is all good.
\"Without deviation from the norm, progress is not possible.\" -- Frank Zappa
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