Month: March 2010

Categories
Hummingbird Food Hummingbirds

Not Just Red Plants Attract Hummingbirds

Red is a color that is well known to attract the hummingbirds, but it is far from the only color you can use to entice the hummingbirds to your yard. A wide variety of other colors including pink, purple, orange, yellow, white and others will also do so quite nicely. This post will explain why color choice is not the most important consideration when selecting plants that will entice the hummingbirds to visit your yard.

The plants or flowers you select should have a long season of overlapping bloom. This includes plants such as petunias, annual red salvia, autumn sage and shrimp plants, or the firebush.

It is extremely important to select a wide variety of plants which are known to attract hummingbirds. You will want the flowers you choose to bloom different times so there will always be something flowering.

Did you know that the flowers you choose will serve two very important purposes? Well, they will. They will provide a source of nectar for the hummingbirds, and they will also attract insects on which the birds will feed.

The colors of the flowers or plants you select are not what is of the greatest importance to a hummingbird when it comes to selecting a food source. So, what is the most important consideration to a hummingbird? To a hummingbird what is far more important when choosing a food source is the quantity and quality of the nectar which is available. As a result, 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. The taste of the nectar is also far more important then the color of the flower.

When choosing flowers and plants to attract hummingbirds, red is not the only color to use. Choose flowers or plants in a wide variety of colors and you will not only have a beautiful and brightly colored yard but you will provide a wonderful food source for the hummingbirds.

Categories
Hummingbird Feeders

Is It Time to Put Out Hummingbird Feeders?

Now that it is officially considered to be spring, at least according to the calender, you would not believe how many times in the past few weeks I have been asked “is it time to put out our hummingbird feeders yet?” Even though it is indeed spring, it has not felt much like spring here in southeast Texas. Regardless, of what the current temperature outside may actually feel like, it is now spring so that is why today’s post will discuss when it is time to put out your hummingbird feeders.

It is impossible to offer you an exact date on which you should put up your hummingbird feeders. While this may sound quite obvious, your feeders should be put up in time for their arrival. Which means that the date on which your feeders should be put up will vary greatly depending upon where you are located.

You will want to know the average date the hummingbirds tend to arrive in your specific area, because you will want to get your feeder up 5-10 days prior to the average date of their arrival in your area. If you are new to birdwatching or you just do not know when that usually occurs, I would suggest that you consult with other birdwatching enthusiast you may know or even your local Audubon Society.

Where I live, in southeast Texas, the first hummingbirds usually arrive around the last week in March and the middle of April. As a result, my mom would often hang her feeders around the time of her birthday, March 30. She did so as away of helping her remember when to do so. While everyone’s situation is unique, it is often good to have something that will help us remember when it is that we want to hang our hummingbird feeders.

You may be wondering why it is important to get your feeders up prior to the average date of the hummingbird’s arrival? Doing this will help increase the possibility that the hummingbird will spot your feeder up and stop by for a drink and therefore begin to realize that your backyard is a great hummingbird haven and thereby entice the birds to possibly stay for the season in your backyard!

Categories
Hummingbird Feeders

Time to Prepare for the Hummingbirds

Depending on where you live, it will likely soon be time for the arrival of the hummingbirds if they have not already begun arriving already. Regardless of what the calender marks as the official arrival of spring, it is not officially spring for me until I have seen my first hummingbird of the season. My fellow hummingbird enthusiast, don’t you also find that to be true?

With that in mind, it is time to start thinking about getting out your hummingbird feeders and begin preparing them for the arrival of the hummingbirds. That is why today’s post will remind everyone of the importance of proper hummingbird feeder maintenance.

If your feeders are made of plastic and have experienced a great deal of exposure to the sun or if there are missing or broken parts, you may wish to consider replacing them with new ones. This will help ensure that the feeder is far less likely to leak or that you might have a problem with bees getting to the nectar solution due to any missing “bee guards.”

Even though it may seem extremely obvious, I feel that it is worth repeating to remind everyone that hummingbird nectar solution is extremely susceptible to fermentation, mold, or harmful bacteria. All of these things can put the health and lives of the hummingbirds in danger, and this is something that should be avoided.

Due to the risk of fermentation, mold and bacteria your hummingbird feeders should be cleaned very often. Just how often? In extremely hot temperatures, every two to three days. If you have any doubt that the solution is still good, it should then be changed as a safety measure.

What is considered to be very hot weather? That would be when the temperature reaches above 60 degrees F., feeders should be cleaned every two to three days and then fresh sugar solution should be added.

To clean the feeder, you can do the following: wash the feeder in very hot water, to wish you may add some vinegar or even a tiny amount of Clorox. These things will help remove mold and kill bacteria. Please be sure and rinse the feeder out thoroughly when you are finished! Any hard to reach places on the hummingbird feeder can be cleaned with the aid of a bottle brush or pipe cleaners. It is also fine to place your hummingbird feeders in the dishwasher and let them run through its cleaning cycle.

It is impossible to state a specific date by which hummingbird feeders should be up. That will vary greatly depending on where you live. When you should hang up your feeders will also depend largely on which hummingbird species are common where you live.

With arrival of spring, we hummingbird enthusiast eagerly anticipate the arrival of the hummingbirds. Let’s get ready for them by being reminded of the utmost importance of proper hummingbird feeder maintenance. After all, none of us wants to cause harm to the birds that we so admire and enjoy.

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Categories
Dear Mom Hummingbird Food

Spring and Hummingbirds

It is supposed to be officially spring now, but you would not know it from the extremely cool temperatures we have still been experiencing thus far.  Regardless of the cooler temperatures, this time of year always makes me think of my mom and hummingbirds.  Why is this you may ask?  Well, that is what the rest of this post will explain.

I live within walking distance of a local home improvement center, and the garden center has out all types of brightly colored hanging baskets with all types of flowers that would attract hummingbirds.  My mom’s yard was full of hanging baskets each year that would successfully entice the hummingbirds to our yard, so each time I think of spring and see those hanging baskets I am reminded of my mom and our shared love of hummingbirds.

There are numerous plants that you could place in hanging baskets, but it is best to select plants which are known to thrive in hanging baskets.  Some possible choices include:  penstemon, salvia and petunia, because the hummingbirds can easily access the nectar due to their long, narrow bills and tongues.

You will want the plants you select for your hanging baskets to offer a wide variety of color.  Red colored flowers are ones which hummingbirds can see from a great distance, so offering flowers that are nectar-rich and come in various shades of red should always attract their attention.  However, flowers of almost any color, including orange, pink, purple, white and yellow will also attract hummingbirds and cause them to feed from these nectar-rich plants.

It is important to select plants with different bloom times.  Choosing plants that have a long bloom time will help provide the hummingbirds with a source of nectar for an extended length of time.  Another way to ensure that the hummingbirds will always have a source of nectar is to select plants that have staggered bloom times.

Hanging baskets are a simple, effective and space-saving way for anyone to attract hummingbirds to their yard, and they are also something that will forever remind me of my mom, spring and hummingbirds.  So, it must only be a short time ahead before I see my first hummingbird of the season.

Categories
Hummingbird Videos

Slow Motion Hummingbirds in HD

This video was shot in high defination and shows hummingbirds in flight and a also feeding in slow motion.  The footage is amazing to see because these birds usually move so fast that it is extremely difficult to appreciate the acts.  I hope you enjoy the video as much as I did!