Monday, September 10, 2018

OUT SMARTING AN A--HOLE


I am usually a very forgiving person, especially with animals. But sometimes even I can get aggravated. I like to feed hummingbirds and they pretty much run me ragged in full season. I make two quarts of nectar a day to keep 2 feeders full. I buy so much sugar I am pretty sure I am on ATF's list of suspicious folks as they probably think I am making moonshine here in the Ozarks.

Last year I put out 3 feeders and made 3 quarts a day but the numbers have decreased this year. I have had as many as thirty little cuties slurping away quietly side by side on the feeders.

This year with only two, I was surprised to see that one feeder kept emptying  quicker than the other and the full one never seemed to have more than one bird in attendance.

Closer watching made me realize that I had a A--hole hummer hogging the one feeder. He would not drink but just sit there watching for possible landings which he promptly chased off. He wanted it all to himself and he succeeded.  That made me mad---really mad.

So I got the third feeder out and  filled it. I swapped out the almost empty group feeder for his full one and placed the third one on another hook, 8 feet away.

When I left, he returned to the same position his once full feeder had been and he never noticed he was now hogging an almost empty one. Probably thinking he has thoroughly scared off all the rest and feeling a bit proud of himself.

This is A--hole guarding an almost empty feeder. 
The other birds gratefully and peacefully visit the other full feeders ignoring
a--hole's feeder. The greedy little piglet hasn't figured it out yet. Greedy but not much on brains. Still everyone, including a--hole, is happy once more. I just need to make sure his feeder doesn't go dry or he will move his claim to the third feeder.

Patti one, bird brain zero---so far.

Oh crap, I just checked. A--hole is still stoically guarding his feeder, the "charm" of agreeable hummers are mobbing the second feeder but there is a lone bird on the third feeder and that one has remained full. Seems I have a second A--hole hummer. Back to square one.

Would you try to govern wild birds forcing them to share or just let them duke it out?

43 comments :

  1. I let mine duke it out and keep them over 15 feet apart so there's almost no fighting. They're quite territorial!

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    1. Marion,
      Thank you for stopping by and commenting. I have never tried putting them that far apart though once I put the house between them. I'll give it a shot. Thanks.

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  2. Hummers are notoriously territorial. I hope you can find some way to discourage the bullies. :-)

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    1. Djan.
      I so agree. I tried, now I think I will let them solve the problem.

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  3. Amazing information about Hummingbirds. Who knew? Just goes to show that bullies are everywhere.

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    1. Annie,
      For tiny fellows they can really be contrary. Odd how some are bullies while others can sit side by side.

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  4. Other than providing easily accessible food for them, we do not try to govern any birds. But, like you, I do get upset to see one bully keeping the others away. We do have feeders on both sides of the house so they have options. I have seen as many as seven hummingbirds fighting over one feeder. No one was getting anything and they were expending a lot of energy just fighting one another.

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    1. Carolyn,
      They usually do that when they first arrive but after a while they realize no one is getting to drink and they become more sociable. This is the first year for an out and out bully.

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  5. I love this post. I've tried so hard to get hummingbirds to stay around but they never do. I finally took my feeders down and wouldn't you know NOW they are coming to feed off the tops of my coleus plants. If I had a lot of them like you, I'd try to intervene too.

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    1. Jean R,
      Thank you. Well natural is better. The drought has not made too many places other than nectar bottles available for them here.

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  6. I love it, trying to figure out the wild animals. Sounds like something I would do. I look forward to manning my feeders next year. I also hope to grow flowers to help hummers and monarchs.

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    1. Nawm,
      They are fun to watch but be prepared to have them exasperate you if you try the feeders. Flowers are the best choice.

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  7. Wow, Patti, you do have a lot of hummers to feed. We don't have that many here. I make a cup of nectar every 3 days. There's one male that won't let the others drink up, but we have lots of flowers that keep everyone happy. Those a-hole hummers always make me mad. Sigh.

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    1. robin,
      The males do seem to be the worst. So glad you have good options for the bullied.

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  8. Oh yes, those a- holes are everywhere. My hubby has threatened to get his shotgun out. :) I have tried all sorts of arrangements ( 10 feeders), wider spacing, etc. It seems grouping them helps so the masses can bring down the a-hole.

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    1. Chip Butter,
      Ha ha, now I don't feel so badly about a few brief thoughts of a BB gun. Wow, you must have gone through the sugar with 10 feeders.

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  9. I rarely see hummers feeding peacefully together, Patti. So I keep feeders out of each other's line of sight on different sides of the house. Sometimes wasps will run off a hummer. It's a jungle out there!

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    1. Out to Pasture,
      I once got mad when I just had two and the male would not let the female drink. Guess she wasn't his type. So I put feeders on opposite sides of the house and darn if that male didn't circle the house to make sure both feeders were his.

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  10. Dear Patti, I just have no idea how to answer your question. I've never done much bird feeding nor reading about birds. Nor have I gone birding to look at them. That's a whole area of Mother Nature that I've failed to explore. I'll be interested in the responses to your question. Peace.

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    Replies
    1. Dee,
      If you ever decide to my commenters have come up with some good solutions.

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  11. We have just one feeder hung in front of our patio door so we can easily watch them. They put on quite a show and often dive bomb one another with their spear like beaks. They don't share very well but our indoor cats love to watch them. I just leave them alone except for frequently making their food. We use a lot of sugar in the summer and it all goes to the birds!

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    1. Bonnie,
      I guess the best solution for my peace of mind would be to just let them duke it out. My cat also loves to watch the activity and I am sure she appreciates the fights more than peaceful eating.

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  12. They are cute ad fun to watch, but I have heard they are all little a-holes. I'd just leave them alone and let nature work it out.

    This post made me laugh several times!

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    1. Joe,
      Thank you and glad I found your funny bone. You are right, they are mostly all a-holes.

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    2. Is a-hole the same as bird brain? Or men?

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  13. Well, I thought you had it solved until I read your whole post. I have no experience with feeding hummers but I think I would just let them work it out. I see birds fighting over feeders all the time and I never interfere. They not only fight over the feeders they fight over the ports. :) Good luck sweet Patti. Hugs

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    1. Maggie,
      I thought I had solved the problem also. I didn't count on there being more than one jerk. I have had episodes where each port on all my feeders was settled peacefully and they sat wing to wing.
      I wish you had commenting on your posts. I miss talking to you.

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  14. Oh my!! I wish we could attract enough to have this problem. But I see your point :-)

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    1. Bobbi and Gracie,
      Usually the more I have the better behaved they are. The small crop this year seems to have encouraged the bad behavior.

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  15. Interesting. Hummer bullies. Not a problem I am going to take on, since we don't feed them, and our bully-in-chief is more than enough to deal with. Hmmers here just frequent the flower food in in our garden.

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    1. Linda R,
      With the amazing garden you have, you all ready have an all you can eat for hummers.

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  16. My husband and I have sat on the porch and watched a hummingbird keep all the rest away from the feeder. It went on for a long time and no one was getting anything to eat. We figured if the birds got hungry enough they'd sip some nectar from neighboring flowers so we weren't too concerned. Eventually the feeder would get emptied. Just let them duke it out. It's a territorial thing.

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    1. Snickelfritz,
      I do keep watching and occasional swap feeders but I am letting them duke it out mostly.

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  17. Most birds around my area are huge and well able to care for themselves, so there aren't any bird feeders.

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    1. River,
      I guess we try with these guys for they are so darn small and cute--when behaving.

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  18. We don't get hummingbirds here in the UK but I have a thug robin who is very territorial and beats up the sparrows if they land on the bird feeder while he's there. Your comment "Greedy but not much on brains" could apply to a few people I know!
    Around My Kitchen Table

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    1. Around my kitchen table,
      Hum a thug robin? Yikes.
      Yep, I know a few folks like that also. Try to keep them out of my path.

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  19. Haha, you made me laugh.

    I noticed quite a few humming birds in AZ recently, although we never feed them they seem to find something to eat, and I have to sat I haven't noticed any thug like behaviour yet. :D

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    1. Joey,
      Glad you got a chuckle. I guess maybe it is when we interfere and put out an all you can eat buffet that manners slip.

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  20. Oh my gosh! This is the funniest thing! I can't believe those tiny little birds eat so much sugar water. Wow! I only saw one in Illinois after 35 years. Maybe it wasn't even a hummer. Maybe it was a little moth or something. I wish I could see your little beauties.

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    1. Kay,
      Ya suppose it is all that sugar that has them so flighty and agitated? They do have a moth that mimics the hummer--think it is called a Sphinx moth.

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  21. I enjoy hummingbirds here when my Bird of Paradise blooms later. Don’t have any feeders out now but when I did I’ve never noticed such a monopoly by one bird. Wonder if that’s typical or if it has anything to do with climate change, availability of other food sources and other variabilities. I do know one thing. There’s been a significant decline in all kind of bird numbers the past twenty years compared to when we moved here.

    I don’t know how you’d police the feeders, short of sitting out there and running the bullies off. It then would the others come to feed with you there? I think you might best take a nature researcher position as an observer and reporter and a.low nature to take its course. Fascinating.

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