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HUMMINGBIRDS
BY One of my most “fun things” in the fall is the
appearance of the Ruby Throated Hummingbirds. It is the only Hummer that
comes to
An outstanding part of a Hummer is its bill and there is quite a
variation among the species.
The Sword Bill in
Their wings are tremendous! They can fly forward, backward, up,
down, or sideways. The bones
are short and the shoulders are flexible. The muscles are one-fourth to
one-third of their total body weight. They can fly up to 55 miles per
hour with 40 to 75 wing beats per second.
The name Hummer comes from the sound of their wings beating so
fast. A few weeks back and before the killing frost on the weekend of
The males are fighters, defending their territories so if you put
up feeders, put up several a few feet away so that others can get your
sugar water. He does not
help in the nesting duties so she builds the nest on a small branch with
a leafy one above it for rain protection, usually lays 2 eggs that hatch
in 2 weeks. She feeds her
babies with nectar and small insects.
They do not nest in I try to hang feeders before I think they will arrive. To make your own nectar heat 4 cups of water, add one cup of table sugar, and stir to dissolve. This nectar has to be dumped and cleaned on a regular basis to prevent mold. Do not use honey as it will make them ill. Usually I have dumped it several times before I see a Hummer. They love the color red so most feeders you buy are red. After they have found your yard they will return another year and their children may also join them. People used to dye their nectar red but this is frowned upon now as the red of the feeder will do.
Hummers prefer flowers to feeders.
Their diet consists of small insects and spiders, tree sap, and
flower nectar. They are good
pollinators as they move from one flower to another.
Plant a number of the same flower together not just single plants
and hear them “buzz” between blooms.
Also have plants that flower at different times so they have a
constant supply of food. They do love Salvia and it blooms before the
Lantana. These two help keep them around. Roses, Geranium, and Petunias
do not produce much nectar. With Honeysuckle and Trumpet Vines you can
see them flying in place with those long beaks inside the trumpet shaped
blooms. These vines may have
several hundred blooms open for a period of time here in Hummers also love water and fly through a “drip” when they find one. I have never had a good Hummer shower unless the sprinklers are going through a bush or small tree and then they find a leaf with enough water to take a bath. My bird baths are rough surface, and never over 3 inches deep and I put a brick in the middle for Butterflies and Hummers to land on. Copyright 2012 *************************************************************
WORDS TO WONDER ABOUT
BY
GREEN MANURE: If you
have clay soil or a not so good soil, this is an excellent idea.
After you harvest your crop of flowers or vegetables and before
it freezes, plant something in that area such as Annual Rye that comes
up right away and grows fast. Some garden centers have mixes for this
marked down for fall or spring seeding.
Then you turn it under to loosen the soil and as it breaks down
it will release food for your crop next year. |