Month: December 2008

Categories
Hummingbird Food

It is Officially Winter

According to our local meteorologist, today is the first official day of winter. I know that many of you are probably thinking that you have been experiencing winter weather for some time already now. I understand. I’m just letting you know that according to the calendar it is now officially the winter season. That said, I thought I’d offer you a reminder about the winter feeding of hummingbirds.
 
Just because it is now winter and the weather results in freezing temperatures, it is not necessary to put anything additional in a winter hummingbird feeder except sugar water. As a result of the colder temperatures, you will probably want to change the ratio used to make your nectar solution from the usual 4:1 mix to 3:1 to help retard the freezing of the nectar solution. 
 
Even during the cold winter season hummingbirds are able to replenish their fat and supply their need for protein. They do so by capturing tiny free-flying insects and even by gleaning small invertebrates from twigs and bark. Another way they do this is by hanging around "sapsucker wells" that attract insects and provide carbohydrates via tree sap.
Categories
Hummingbird Feeders Hummingbird Food

Use Red to Entice Hummingbirds

Entice the hummingbirds to your garden by planting something red, because this will entice them to stay and check out all your flowers, regardless of their color, in order to determine those that are good nectar sources. 
 
You can also put red or orange surveyors tape or ribbons on your hummingbird feeders as another way to attract hummingbirds to your yard in the spring.
 
The idea is to entire the hummingbirds to visit your yard frequently and to make them want to stay for a while. The color red with help you do this but it is not the most important thing to keep in mind. Whenever choosing a flower, the hummingbird will select the flower with the highest nectar output and the richest concentration of sugars, regardless of the shape or color of the flower. Also more important than the color of the flower is how the nectar taste.
Categories
Hummingbird Pictures

Photographing a Hummingbird at a Flower

Capturing a clear photo of a hummingbird can be a very difficult thing to do. These birds are amazingly quick and do not remain in one place for very long, so this task is often made even more difficult. If you want to photograph a hummingbird feeding at a particular flower, then the information that follows should be of help in your efforts to do so.
 
One thing to do is to put some nectar in the flower. That’s right, add a little sugar water to the flower you want the hummingbird to stay at long enough for you to get your shot. You can add the nectar to the flower by using a syringe. You will want to grind or file the sharp point off of the syringe, fill it full of sugar water and dispense some into the flower you want the hummingbird to drink from. This will make the hummingbird stop at the flower and sip for a little while, thus allowing g your lens enough time to get good focus and giving you enough time to get a few shots. This method can also be used to get hummingbirds to visit certain flowers more often. 
 
It is my hope that this information will improve your changes of getting a good shot of a hummingbird from a particular flower. If you are like me, you too like capturing those special moments or events on film so that you will have a tangible reminder the memory to last a lifetime.
Categories
Hummingbird Videos

Attracting Hummingbirds to Your Yard

This video offers all kinds of tips on attracting hummingbirds to your yard.  You can use feeders, hanging baskets or a garden.  To discover the valuable information on this subject, watch this informative video.  Enjoy!

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Dear Mom

I’m in the Hospital

This is to let you know that I’m in the hospital.   Due to the personal nature of the issue, I won’t discuss the reason for the hospitalization.  Athough I can’t say this with absolute certainty, I don’t think I will remain hospitalized for too long.  I just wanted to explain why there won’t be any new post for a few days.