My parents and I love
hummingbirds so we always have put feeders out for them. Over the years each
time I come home for the summer from school we add a few more. This year
the hummingbird population has surged in response. I estimate that we now
have 30 or more hummingbirds in and around our yard at any given time.
When a large bird like our
blue jays burst through our tree in the back the whole tree is engulfed in the
sound of hummingbird indignation and protest.
If you stand long enough at
any of the feeders your liable to have at least three if not five birds get in
your face to check you out, and the wet drop that fell on you is not rain. We
have to refill each feeder 1-3 times per day depending on location.
Shortly after taking these
pictures this little guy took off after two other birds and chased them away
from the feeder he was guarding. He then tried to land on my camera right next
to my hand. If I had not been so surprised I wouldn't have moved and he
probably would have hung out with me.
Most of the birds just
finished molting. The last few weeks their feathers have looked terrible, but
their looking better and their colors are finally starting to come in.
My favorite hummingbird is
the Rufous. They are the most unique and smallest of the hummers we see
and they have the biggest attitude. Their bright orange rust and green color
matches that fiery personality perfectly. The one we have seen lately is the
smallest we have seen and has an emerald color back orange on the sides and a
cream-white belly. These guys are fast and shy away from people so catching
them on camera has proven difficult.
Want to get into a staring
match with a hummingbird? I think not! These guys are bold and they are smart
little birds. Five birds fighting over one feeder is a
common occurrence around here. What we did not anticipate was how
bold these guys would be. I have had birds smack me in the face and even act as
if they want to chase me away from their feeder.
Never buy the expensive
colored hummingbird 'juice' from the store. The birds don't need the red dye in
the water. The mix we use is one part granulated sugar, to four parts water.
All you need to do is heat the water up and pour the sugar in and mix. You need
the heat so the sugar will dissolve completely. Once dissolved choose a bottle
to store the extra liquid and put in the fridge. Your mix will usually last a
few days to a week if kept cold and then its super easy to keep your feeders
full and fresh. The birds love the cold juice on a hot day.
We reuse clean coffee mate
containers for the juice. They come in a lot of different sizes depending on if
you how much juice you will need in a week. We used to use the really tiny ones
and now we have moved up to the medium sized container.
Its around 30 ounces and we
have to make new juice every 2-3 days. We have 7 feeders out for the birds in
our small yard and will be adding more this week to keep the birds from
fighting so much.
Disclaimer: putting feeders
up is addicting and may result in bursts of ohhs and ahhs, and less watching of
television.
The more feeders you put up,
the more birds you will get. Just don't forget to keep them filled, the birds
will thank you!
Happy Birding!
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