Wednesday, January 7, 2009

Humming Birds



I have a passion for my Humming Birds. Actually, I like all kind of birds but with two dogs, I can't get any birds to stay around, except for Humming Birds.

It started about a year ago. I bought a humming bird feeder. I found the recipe for the nectar and that was all I needed. Last summer I had a family of Humming Birds call my feeder home.


It was fun to have them buzz around while I worked in my yard. Sometimes they would just hover and watch what I was doing. Every morning I would get up and look out our kitchen window, waiting for the first sighting. All day long I'd see them. Sometimes they'd sit on a branch close by. That is when I got the binoculars out and study them. They also rested in the cedar tree in our neighbor's yard.


I had heard that you could keep the birds through the winter if you kept the feeder clean and full. So I just had to try. When the temperature went down to 28 degrees, I would bring in the feeder inside at night. And then the snow came. I would put on my boots and brush off the snow every hour. I even made my daughter and son-in-law go out and brush the snow off the feeder. You'd think I was a crazy lady. But I still have the Humming Birds! I now call them Tiny and Teeny. The male is Tiny and his mate is Teeny.


Nectar Recipe:
1 Part Sugar 4 Parts Water Boil 1-2 Minutes Cool & Store In Refrigerator
Never use honey or artificial sweeteners! Honey ferments easily, and can cause sores in a hummers mouth. Artificial sweeteners have no food value. DO NOT use red food coloring in your solution, as this could be harmful to your hummers. No testing has been done on the effects dye has on birds. Most feeders have red on them and that should be enough.


1 comment:

  1. Thanks for the tips on the recipe. We love hummingbirds too, but in our particular area we don't see them very often.

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