Categories
Hummingbirds

Planting Flowers for Hummingbirds and Butterflies With William Moss

Hummingbirds and butterflies are “nature’s little pollinators.” In this video, master gardener will offer a wide variety of plants which are known to attract both hummingbirds and butterflies to your yard. Your yard will be the envy of your neighbors for its vivid burst of color and number of the hummingbirds and butterflies that visit it.

Categories
Hummingbird Food Hummingbirds

Hummingbirds of Alabama

A friend of mine and her family live part-time in Alabama and Texas. She wanted to know what species of hummingbirds are found in Alabama. This is what has prompted me to write this particular post.

As is true in many parts of the country, the most common species of hummingbird to be found in Alabama is the Ruby-throated Hummingbird. While not as common, you might also find the Rufus Hummingbird.

The next part of this post will give you some information on both the Ruby-throated Hummingbird as well as the Rufus Hummingbird and also attracting these birds to your yard.

When trying to identify a Ruby-throated Hummingbird, here is what to look for to help you do so properly. The males have metallic green backs, blackchins, metallic red throats and white underparts. The females lack the black chins and red throats.

Due to the long journey to cross the Gulf of Mexico, the Ruby-throated hummingbird must gain critical weight before attempting to cross the Gulf of Mexico. As a result, the hummingbirds will nearly double their weight (from about 3.25 grams to 6 grams) before crossing the Gulf of Mexico. The migratory journey can be 500 long and take between 18 and 22 hours to complete.

Today there is an estimated population of over 7 million Ruby-throated Hummingbirds. During the nineteenth century, this particular species of hummingbird was hunted for its beautiful plumage, but it now now enjoys protection from harvest through the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. This act declares unlawful the taking, killing, or possessing of migratory birds. It is also listed in Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna of 1975.

The male Rufus Hummingbird has brown on its back, sides, tail and head. The male will also have a reddish colored throat patch, but it will be more orange in color then that of the Ruby-throated Hummingbird.

If you want to attract hummingbirds to your yard, planting flowers is a great way to do so. Trumpet vines, petunias, and salvia are all examples of some plants which are known to attract hummingbirds.

If you are not into gardening, then the use of a hummingbird feeder will work just fine. To make your own homemade nectar solution, mix 1 part sugar to 4 parts water. Boil the solution for about one minute to help dissolve the sugar completely. Let the mixture cool completely and then fill the feeder. It is extremely important that the feeder be kept clean and it should therefore be washed often, at least once a week or more, and the nectar solution changed regularly.

Anyone living in the state of Alabama, you do have hummingbirds found there. It is my hope that this post has told you more about the species found there, plants which are known to attract them, and a bit about using a feeder to attract hummingbirds.

Categories
Hummingbird Feeders Hummingbird Food

What Causes Nectar to Ferment?

Homemade hummingbird nectar solution will ferment or spoil very quickly. Have you ever wondered what causes this? This post will provide you with the answer and it may even surprise you.

The cause of the fermentation or spoilage of nectar solution is due to the growth of microorganisms which are transported to the feeder on a hummingbird’s bill. It is not due to a problem with the water source you are using, as is often a common misconception held by some people.

Any unused homemade nectar solution can be kept in the icebox for up to a week. Be sure to put it in a container that has been labeled as nectar solution and dated. If in doubt as to if the solution is still good, please use caution and get rid of it and make some fresh nectar solution.

The best way to avoid the fermentation of your homemade nectar solution is to change it often and keep your feeder extremely clean. Also, do not hang your hummingbird feeder in direct sunlight.

A clean feeder is of vital importance to a hummingbird. Which is why I cannot stress enough the need for hummingbird feeders to be cleaned very frequently. Just how often is that? Hummingbird feeders should be cleaned at least every 2-3 days in hot weather or a good rule of thumb is to just wash it each time the feeder must be filled again with fresh nectar solution which ever comes first.

Categories
Hummingbirds

What is the Migratory Bird Treaty Act?

The Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918 is the law in the united States which regulates the possession and capture of any migratory bird. Hummingbirds are specifically listed on a list of Migratory Birds under the United States Code of Federal Regulations. This law makes it illegal to possess a hummingbird, a hummingbird nest or egg in any way shape or form in captivity.

Why would anyone violate this law? You would be surprised why someone might want to to so. Many people might have the mistaken idea that a hummingbird would make a neat pet. This is not true and you should never try to turn a wild bird into a pet! Many people have never before seen a hummingbird nest or egg, so they may want to keep it as a keepsake of having found it. Whatever reason someone may think of as a reason why they might violate this law, please do not do so!

Violating this law has some consequences. First, the bird will immediately be taken from you. Secondly, you will face some hefty financial fines, which can run between $15,000-$200,000.

Categories
Hummingbird Pictures Hummingbirds

The Blue-throated Hummingbird

Someone recently asked me what is the largest hummingbird species found in the United States? I must admit that I did not know the answer at the time this question was asked of me. This prompted me to do some research so that I could return to my friend with the correct answer to their question. Here is what I discovered as a result of my research.

The Blue-throated Hummingbird is the largest hummingbird species found in the United States. It is three times larger then the Ruby-throated Hummingbird, weighing an astounding 7.6 grams. This species of hummingbird measures 5 inches long and has an 8 inch wingspan.

The bird is uniformly gray below, with a bronze rump and an oversized blackish tail with large white corners. It is not easy to see the blue on the male’s throat, despite the hummingbird’s name. Relative of the Blue-throated Hummingbird, the Amethyst-throated Hummingbird and others, typically have plumage showing a higher degree of sexual dimorphism, and more extensive iridescence.

A Blue-throated Hummingbird at a flower
A Blue-throated Hummingbird at a flower

All factual information contained in this post comes from the National Audubon Society and I wish to give proper credit for the information found here.