Attaeting Hummingbirds
A quick darting motion, a hovering among the columbine, caught out of the corner of my eye announced that the humming bird is back. It seems like a miracle that this tiny bird can wing its way across the Gulf of Mexico, a distance of 500 miles from its winter home in Central and South America. Scientists say this is possible because two-thirds of its weight is stored fat. Even so, it weighs about the same as a copper penny. It is said that it can go 60 miles an hour at top speed. Its wing structure enables it to hover and fly backwards. It can even fly sideways.
The only humming bird that nests in the eastern United States and eastern Canada is the ruby-throated humming bird. The male is iridescent green on its back and wings, a needle-like beak, and a forked tail. Its throat is vibrant, fiery red. It can make a high squeaky noise. Besides nectar from flowers, it also eats aphids and other small insects and spiders. Eight other species are known in the western United States.
Percy’s mother enjoyed watching the humming birds that came to her feeder every summer. The feeder hung on the front porch and they were not shy of us sitting on the porch if we were quiet. It was obvious that there was a dominant hummingbird that often chased the others away.
She filled the feeder with a mixture of one part white sugar to four parts water which had been boiled and kept leftover nectar in the refrigerator. She filled the feeder and cleaned them with vinegar and water solution every week to prevent the growth of bacteria. We are advised not to use soapy water or detergent to clean the feeders.
Some enthusiasts recommend placing the feeders in the shade. Most humming bird feeders have an attractive red color. They advise that the feeders be kept filled in the fall until no humming birds have been seen for two weeks. This will help provide energy for the long trip back south.
These speedy frequent flyers can also be attracted to our yards by planting a succession of tubular, nectar producing flowers. They like bleeding heart, columbine, coral bells, petunia, phlox, scarlet morning glory, trumpet vine, trumpet honeysuckle, bee balm, cardinal flower, and scarlet lobelia. Avoid using chemical sprays. Humming birds like red flowers, followed by orange, yellow, pink and purple. They can also obtain nectar from flowering shrubs such as butterfly bush, and flowering trees like black locust and tulip poplar.
Humming birds are very protective of their nests which are built of dandelion down and young oak leaves in open woods. They have nested close to houses and bravely dart right at people who venture too close. The drab female builds the nest and tends the young. The eggs, usually two, hatch after about two weeks. When the young are born, they are blind and no bigger than a bumblebee. After around twenty days they are ready to leave the nest. They often raise two broods in a summer.
For more information about attracting hummingbirds and other wildlife to your yard e-mail dhale@dnr.state.wv.us. Dr. Daniel Hale was a medical doctor from Princeton, W.V., Percy’s family doctor. He died sometime ago and it pleases us to have the web site named for him. He was known over the state for his work with wildlife.
– Percy and Mary