Bird Lovers –Featured at the Feeder—Hummingbirds

They’re back!  The first one I saw was a few weeks ago made me feel like a happy little girl. I danced a jig and called my daughter who has hummers all year-long in Oregon.  After the call, I quickly got the hummingbird feeders filled with sugar water for the little, buzzy, beautiful friends.

We have 3 types of hummers in our area:  Black-chinned (which looks violet/blue in the right light, the female has a spotted chin), Broad-tailed (it also has a black chin but turns rosy in the right light, female has no rosy throat and tan sides), and the Rufous (a red colored trouble maker, males are mostly red, females aren’t so red and has dark marks on the chin).  The Rufous hummers like to chase other hummers away from “their” feeder.

I so enjoy watching and listening to these little flying jewels.  They chirp instead of sing like other birds. Their wings go so fast they’re blurred in our vision. If you get close enough you can feel and hear their wings.

The Pros say if there is too much fuss (like Rufous taking over a feeder), to add another feeder in a different area.  I have several feeders on the front deck and the back deck.  I have one next to my little fountain.  They drink out of it like the other birds.

  Speaking of Pros, they are adamant about what to feed hummingbirds and keeping feeders clean. Only use white sugar, 1 part sugar to 4 parts water.  I use hot tap water, some people like to boil the water and no red coloring needed.  Keeping feeders’ clean helps keep our buddies healthy.  A bit of Dawn liquid and hot water works well.  A bottle brush helps get feeders clean.  You can purchase a special hummingbird feeder brush, it’s great to get everything cleaned well.  Sugar water needs to be changed weekly or more in warm weather.  Adding sugar water to older water in the feeder is a no/no.  You are to throw it out, clean and refill.

I hope this is helpful. 

 Enjoy our jeweled flying friends.  They add even more beauty to our already beautiful Mora Valley.

 Please send bird or animal stories to us, we’d love to publish them.