Month: October 2008
Don’t let the fact that you have a limited amout of space, like a small deck , keep you from trying to attract hummingbirds, because it can be successfully done. You just have plant the right types of flowers to attract them. This video shows them eating from Fuschia triphylla, ‘Lady in Red’ salvia, Mexican sunflowers (Tithonia), and calibrachoa (Million Bells).
I found it quite interesting to see the hummingbirds up close and feeding from so many flowers. Usually, they feed so quickly that it isn’t something you can often fully appreciate. Enjoy!
I was recently asked, "do hummingbirds molt?’ Yes, they indeed do. It is my hope that the information below will help inform you on this subject.
By the time fall migration comes, many hummingbirds are relying on worn-out feathers. They will begin to molt anytime from September to November, while out of view of most U.S. and Canada hummingbird watchers. Each feather will take several weeks to regain its size and shape.
- Red dye has no nutrient value so why feed it the hummingbirds.
- All red dyes are categorized as "xenobiotics" the same as other pollutants and stress the metabolism accordingly [Kuno & Mizutani, 2005].
- Red dye masks fermentation making it difficult to assess the freshness of a mixture, encouraging users to risk keeping the mixture beyond its safety margin since it looks okay to them.
- A properly designed feeder attracts no additional hummingbirds by coloring the water, so it is a useless additional ingredient. They are attracted to red flowers, not red nectar, so the feeder, not the feed, should be red. In comparison tests of dyed & undyed nectars offered side-by-side in identical feeders, the non-dyed was visited more often.
- The potential carcinogenicity, DNA damage, lowered of fertility rates, increase in tumors, lethargy, & other health problems associated with mammals given doses of Red40 far lower than are in manufactured nectar powders, are not worth risking on such small birds.
This video consist of a series of still phographs of the Ruby Throated Hummingbird. The photos are truly beautiful and give the individual the opportunity to view this species of hummingbird very closely. This video shows some Ruby Throated hummingsbirds in the Black Hammock, Oviedo, FL, that show up from early spring to late summer. Hope you enjoy the amazing photos in this video.