Dear HCN,
The story about the
remarkable concentrations of migrating hummingbirds at Jesse
Hendrix’s home outside Nogales, Ariz., has piqued a great deal of
interest in attracting and feeding these living jewels (Heard
around the West, HCN, 9/13/99). The Southeastern Arizona Bird
Observatory offers the following recommendations for making
hummingbirds feel at home in your yard:
* Create
good habitat, starting with native shrubs and trees. The average
“lawn planet” yard is a wasteland as far as they’re
concerned.
* Plant hummingbird-pollinated
flowers, preferably species native to your area. Roses and
marigolds might catch a hungry hummingbird’s attention, but they
don’t produce the right type or quantity of nectar to satisfy this
very selective clientele.
* Use natural
pest-control methods. Chemical pesticides indiscriminately kill the
tiny insects and spiders that hummingbirds eat and may put the
birds at risk of secondary poisoning. Spiders are important allies
in the war on insect pests, and their webs provide female
hummingbirds with silk to build their nests.
*
Use nature’s nectar recipe to fill feeders. Natural nectar contains
little more than water, sugars (mainly sucrose, a.k.a. white sugar)
and small amounts of mineral salts, with no preservatives or
flavors, and no dyes. Hummingbirds are attracted by the color red,
but red plastic on the feeder will do the trick. One part plain
granulated sugar dissolved in four parts ordinary tap or bottled
drinking water creates a solution remarkably like natural nectar.
Solution made with boiling water or heated briefly in the microwave
spoils less quickly (always allow to cool before serving). Don’t
use honey, which can cause a fatal fungus infection, or commercial
mixes, which are at best a waste of money and at worst a potential
hazard to the birds’ health.
* Put out fresh
solution every two-to-four days (more often in hot weather), and
clean feeders thoroughly at least once a week. Selecting a feeder
design that’s easy to clean and refill will save time and prevent
hygiene problems. If you’re going to be away from home for a week
or more, take your feeders down before you leave and replace them
on your return so the birds don’t drink fermented
solution.
* If you live where hummingbirds are
absent in winter, take your feeders down in fall about a week after
the usual last sighting date to give tardy migrants another chance
to fill up on their way south (check with your local nature center
or Audubon Society for migration schedules). Contrary to urban
folklore, feeders will not prevent normal, healthy hummingbirds
from migrating, and residents of the desert Southwest and Pacific
Coast may host a few hummingbirds year round.
For
more information on these fascinating birds, visit SABO’s Web site
at www.sabo.org/hbfaqs.htm or send a long SASE to: SABO Hummer
FAQs, P.O. Box 5521, Bisbee, AZ
85603-5521.
Sheri
Williamson
Bisbee, Arizona
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline How to keep hummers happy.
Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license.
