We are covered up with Ruby Throats, I am up to two gallons a day. They started almost a full month early here and are now here in numbers that I have never seen before.
Anyone else seeing this? Friends in the NE and E have said that they have had smaller numbers this summer.

Wow, that is quite a swarm! We have a lot of hummingbirds now too, but probably not more than usual - certainly not as many as you. Always included are the dumb ones that insist on flying into the barn and having trouble finding their way out.

We finally put up bird netting on our porch, we have a, gee I don't know the architectural term, peaked roof in front of the door that is open on the underside. For two years I fished hummers from those rafters with a homemade net combo. We were losing some because of stress/exhaustion/starvation, and they refused to fly lower to get out. Last winter a rare inspiration hit me to stretch the netting across the void. So far no casualties. On a side note, my Jack vine has tried to take over the space now that it has support. I will regret alowing it when I have to clear it after the frosts.

I use a potted red hibiscus to lure the little idiots out of the barn. It normally sits out in the barnyard but it can be moved into the open end of the barn to attract the humming birds downward so they can see the way out. Other birds seem to be able to figure it out on their own.

Great photos! I haven't seen so many hummers since we lived in Tucson! Here, we have had three this summer that would rather starve than share with each other. They spend more time chasing each other away, than sipping!

They are all around my yard here in Montgomery county. I need to get my feeders up.

I took this Snday morning to give people an idea of what it's like on my porch right now.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?...

Wow!How often do you have to fill up the feeders? My dog was very interested in the sound on your video!

I currently have six quart sized feeders and have managed to get them staggered as far as filling. Generally three get filled at dawn, and three around lunch. Then the first three around four and the second three the following morning. Four feeders have six ports, two have eight. I am going to experiment with an open feeder tomorrow. They use them in rain forests. If they will feed from it, I will use a chick waterer which holds a gallon. If not, it was a $2 experiment.

Joy, whoa! I've never seen so many hummers!!! I have two that are fighting over the feeder and there are 4 ports - they were chasing each other and almost got me in the head.

Joy, I'm so glad you're in the right place to feed those hummingbirds! Good job! We never have a lot of them like that here. The Black-chinned ones stay the breeding season here, but recently there's been a few stopping by during the migration. The drought in some areas may make the hummers more dependent on feeders than usual...Although the drought has been here so many years in my area, it's pretty much status quo now. We got some rain the last couple of days, for which I'm really grateful!