Birds and Bird Feeders

Posts Tagged ‘hummingbird garden’

Hummingbirds can be found throughout the Americas including the Caribbean. Well-known for their ability to hover and their skill at flying backwards, hummingbirds hover by rapidly flapping their wings at high speeds up to 80 times a second.

The Bee Hummingbird is the tiniest bird in the world at just two inches in length and 1.8 grams. The Giant Hummingbird is the largest hummingbird at 24 grams and approximately 8 inches long. Hummingbirds have the fastest metabolism of all birds and to keep going they must consume their own weight and more in food daily. To do this they must visit many hundreds of blooms daily to collect the nectar. They have long beaks and tongues which allows them to reach right into flowers. They have the ability decrease their metabolisms when resting, in contrast to the majority of other animals with a high metabolisms. This increases their natural life, which has been recorded at up to sixteen years.

How to Make A Hummingbird Friendly Garden

To attract hummingbirds to your garden you could plant brightly colored bushes and flowers. Hummingbirds have very little sense of smell but they are drawn to intense colours. Hanging a feeder specially made for humming birds in your backyard or on your deck will be a focus for these pretty birds. Plant annuals include beard tongue, salvia, petunia, jewelweed, jacobinia, impatiens, and firespike. Some perennial plants include hosta, hummingbird mint, cardinal flower, canna, bee balm and columbine. For shrubs and trees plant lantana, mimosa, red buckeye, azalea, buddleia and weigela.

Don’t use pesticides in your garden as you will kill bugs and insects that hummingbirds eat. They also leave deposits on flowers which the hummingbirds may ingest. Also provide a lot of roosting places as they will spend almost 80% of the time resting on twigs, clothes lines etc. Supply plants that will provide nesting materials to catch the attention of the females. They prefer downy nesting material from trees like eucalyptus and willow and from ferns, mosses and lichens.

Placing vibrantly coloured, specially made hummingbird feeders in your garden will exert a pull on the hummingbirds. An excellent idea is to attach red streamers that will blow around the feeder. It is also a good idea to supply feeders at various heights as hummingbird species all have distinctive preferences. Species that prefer plants that are low growing will visit a feeder positioned lower whereas species that feed on taller shrubs and plants will prefer to visit a feeder positioned higher. Hummingbirds are also very territorial and an individual hummingbird may guard a particular feeder and prevent others from approaching. Place at least three feeders at different heights all around your garden.

Hummingbirds love a bath in the mist on leaves so you might position a mister close to some broadleaved shrubs to provide them with a bathing place.

Making Hummingbird Nectar

A sweet nectar can be made by mixing together one cup of sugar with four cups of pre-boiled water. Cool then store in the fridge. Unused nectar can be stored safely for approximately a week. Thoroughly clean hummingbird feeders every week by rinsing with a solution of 1 cup of vinegar in four cups of water then rinsing out with clean water. Fill with the nectar and suspend in the shade. Do not use any food coloring or sweeteners. Also do not use honey as it may ferment and be the source of a a fungus that can poison the hummingbirds. Replace the nectar solution in the feeder every three days or more often in hotter weather.

Conclusion

It’s not hard to make a garden to appeal to these lovely birds. Provide them with the food they like and a comfortable location and hummingbirds will pay a visit your garden frequently.

More Information on feeding wild birds and some cheap bird feeders to buy at Garden Bird Feeders or Garden Garden Bird Feeders UK