> >

Attract hummingbirds with feeders

May 31, 2012 12:12:16 PM by Administrator Account

Yes Cancel

The Wild Life by Todd McLeish

Spring migration is over, and the breeding season for songbirds and most other wildlife in the region is in full swing. By now, bluebirds and robins and Eastern phoebes are probably sitting on their second clutch of eggs after already having raised one family this year. And the warblers and vireos and sparrows are defending their territories and preparing to rush to and fro in an effort to fill the bellies of their nestlings.

The smallest of our local birds are taking similar steps. Ruby-throated hummingbirds are considered by many to be the most amazing of New England’s birds. Weighing just an eighth of an ounce and beating their wings at a rate of about 53 times per second, those tiny flashes of red and green use up a great deal of energy. Their ability to migrate across the Gulf of Mexico without stopping to refuel is a tremendous feat.
While they are in southern New England for the summer, you can get up close and personal with them very easily by placing a feeder designed to provide nectar to the birds. A mixture of four parts water to one part sugar is just the thing to provide hummingbirds with a boost to their energy stores. It is not necessary to add red food coloring to the mixture because most feeders have red coloration on them already and the chemicals in the food coloring may do more harm than good.

You’ll have a better chance to attract hummingbirds if you have a colorful garden as well, but even without one, you are likely to find hummingbirds darting around your yard as they search for nectar and tiny insects. They are bold, so don’t be surprised to hear their loud buzzing wings and high-pitched squeak as they fly past your head or hover at your feeder when you are only a few feet away.
But don’t bother trying to find their nests. It is nearly impossible. I’ve been searching for years and have never located one. Their tiny nests, often made of thistle or dandelion down and held together with strands of spider web silk and pine resin, are the size of a large thimble and usually placed on top of a branch high in a deciduous tree. Their eggs are the size of a pea.

Enjoy our ruby-throated hummingbirds while you can. The brightly colored males will begin their southbound migration by mid-August, and
most females and their young will be gone by early September. Then we’ll have to wait another eight months before the flying flowers return to begin the process again.

Todd McLeish is a science writer at the University of Rhode Island and a lifelong birdwatcher. Contact him at tmcleish@uri.edu.

Archive by Years