Category: Hummingbird Food

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Hummingbird Food

Flowers Which Attract Hummingbirds

Many people wanting to attract hummingbirds want to know how to do so other then through the use of a hummingbird feeder.  The answer is to plant flowers that are native to your area of the country.  While not every flower listed below may grow in your specific region of the country, you will likely find some useful seggestions below.   

The list that follows is not my own.  It is from the website eHow.com.  According to that site the following are the top 10 flowers for attracting hummingbirds: Bee Balm Red Columbine Delphinium and Hollyhock Butterfly Bush Catawba Rhododendron Rose of Sharon Trumpet Vine and Trumpet Honeysuckle Cardinal Vine Lantana and Fuchsia Silk Tree.

Best of luck trying to attract hummingbirds through the use of flowers!  I’m sure the hummingbirds will greatly appreciate your efforts. Through your efforts you will be providing the hummingbirds with an alternative food souce as well as beautifying your yard.

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Hummingbird Food

The Hummingbird’s Diet

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Sugar water is insufficient as a long-term diet for hummingbirds and they can’t live on this alone. This mix only provides the carbohydrates they need. Hummingbirds also need fats and proteins that normally come from tiny insects. You can purchase Nektar-Plus, a water-soluble balanced hummingbird formula, from a local veterinarian who specializes in bird care.
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Hummingbird Food

Hummingbirds are Non-Social

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Just to give you some idea of how non-social and fiercely independent hummingbirds are by nature, hummingbirds do not depend on one another when trying to locate food or to fend off predators. These birds view each other as competitors for the nectar on which they depend. 
 
Male and female hummingbirds do not form a pair bond, and the birds only remain together for courtship and mating. I do not know how long the courtship display itself last. The act of mating only takes about four (4) seconds. Needless to say, the male and female remain together for only an extremely brief period of time. This is fine with the female hummingbird, because the amount of help that the male hummingbird would provide is outweighed by the burden of having the male around computing for food. The female hummingbird bares the sole responsibility for building the nests and caring for the young birds once they are born. After mating, the male has no further responsibilities toward reproduction. 
 
Have you ever wondered why hummingbirds seem to fight so much? Well, the information that follows will help explain this. It takes time for plants to secrete nectar into their flowers. Hummingbirds should time their visits to the flowers when the nectar supply is the greatest, but instead they wait until there other hummingbirds at the flowers wanting to feed as well. This results in the birds feeling the need to try and drive away anyone they view as their competition for the food supply.
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Hummingbird Food

Just How Much Do Hummingbirds Eat?

You may have heard that a hummingbird can starve to death quite quickly, in as little as two hours. Due to this, hummingbirds must eat frequently, between 5 and 8 times an hour. Have you ever wondered just how much hummingbirds eat? The answer may surprise you.
 
No other animal on earth has a faster metabolism then the hummingbird. Just how fast is it? It is roughly 100 times that of an elephant. These very tiny birds burn calories so quickly that they often eat 1.5 to 3 times their body weight in food per day! As a result of their efforts to gather enough nectar, these bids must visit hundreds of flowers every day.
 
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Hummingbird Food

Is Too Good a Habitat Possible?

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Is there such a thing as having too good a hummingbird habitat?  Believe it or not, this is quite possible.  Let me explain what I mean by this.

 If there are too many plants, flowers, or shrubs in your area which attract hummingbirds, then the birds may have no need to visit the feeders in the area.  Simply put, the natural food supply is available with such abundance that alternet food sources aren’t necessary.  After all, why shouldn’t the birds prefer the natural food sources available over the artificial nectar solution that we provide in hummingbird feeders?