Hand Feeding a Hummingbird

I went to the California Backyard Birds https://www.californiabackyardbirds.com/ in Encinitas to buy bird food and noticed the tiny single hummingbird feeder. It is made so that you can hand feed the hummingbirds. I laughed at Mark the owner and said "this can't really work" ! He said, yes, it really does, and that there is a photo of a lady feeding a hummingbird out of the palm of her hand and she got the hummer to do so in one day!  Well that is all I needed to hear, I grabbed one of the tiny single feeders and included it in my items for purchase. Mark the owner of the store also told me that the best way to get a successful outcome is to hang the feeder up near the main hummer feeder and get the hummers used to it. They will come and feed from it as they get familiar with the new tiny feeder. Doing this first step will make it easier to get the hummers to feed from your hand.

Bringing the single feeder home, I immediately found the perfect place to hang it. I spot a young Anna's Hummingbird perched nearby.

He is looking towards the main feeder making sure no one else is feeding from it. He guards it most of the day.

I hung the single feeder about 7 feet north of the main feeder. Soon it was visited by the youngster.

To make the sugar water mix, use one cup of water to 1/4 cup of white cane sugar and bring it to a boil. Let it boil for good 2 minutes to make sure that you kill the mold in the sugar. The Anna's Hummingbird has a problem with getting a nasty growth from the mold and fungus in the sugar that deforms the beak qhich can be a slow death sentence for these beautiful hummers. Keeping the feeder clean and boiling the sugar water correctly to kill the mold will help keep your hummers healthy.

Next, I tried the hand feeding and it worked. Now I had to get some photos of this wonderful experience to show you what it was like. First I removed the main feeder, then I got my boyfriend to stand by the door of my dining room with camera ready to shoot. I placed the single feeder in the palm of my left hand and stood very quiet about 3 1/2 feet from where the main feeder was and waited. It took a while but he finally flew over.

He noticed the camera by the back door and appeared a little cautious.

Looking at it...

Yes!!!

This is so amazing. What a wonderful invention. I am staying very still just enjoying every second of this little guy's visit.

It's amazing that a tiny little item like this could bring such joy.

Close-up

Close-up.

Close-up.

One last sip.

He pauses just for a second and I give him a slight nod to say good-bye for now as he is gone in a flash. What a wonderful experience this little item has given me. I highly recommend to anyone that loves hummingbirds and has feeders in the yard to give hand feeding a hummingbird a try!

Have a fun week everyone!