Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Try, Try Again


For any of you who did not succeed in attracting hummingbirds to your feeders this spring, now becomes another excellent opportunity to try again. The hummingbirds are more plentiful after their nesting, and they and their youngsters will now begin the annual ritual of gaining weight in preparation for migration this fall, where they expend huge amounts of energy during their long flight.


The best method to attract hummingbirds is to provide a hummingbird feeder filled with a sugar-water solution. Use one part table sugar and four parts water. Hummingbirds are bold little creatures, so don’t be shy about hanging the feeder close by where you can see it. Remember to clean your feeder every two to three days. In the heat the sweet sugar water sours as it begins to ferment.


You can put up a hummingbird feeder anytime during the summer and still attract hummingbirds. Add a mister to your birdbath to watch hummingbirds dart back and forth through the stream of mist to bathe or to take a drink. Hummingbirds are attracted to a wide variety of flowers. Here are a few favorites: Beebalm, Beard Tongue, Columbine, Cardinal Flower, Fuchsia, Coralbells, Petunia, Butterfly Bush Delphinium.

2 comments:

jill said...

Hi, Ben! I love your new blog! I'll return to it often.
I'll have to check out the Wild Birds here in Boulder, something I have yet to do. (Dianne and I should have done that when she was out here. Next time!)

I love the Try, Try Again portion! What is it about hummingbirds?

If you and your family are ever in Colorado, let me know!

Your very, distant sister-in-law of sorts!
Jill

Bob Roush said...

Hey Ben, I like your blog as well. I have a love of birds and flowers and have found that I attract more hummingbirds with flowers than I ever was able to attract with sugar feeders.

I was sitting in my garden the other day and watching the hummingbirds go from flower to flower and then go back up into my cherry tree and screech at me when I got up.

The feeders usually attracted more yellow jackets than hummingbirds, but maybe I did not have the correct formula.

Anyway it was good getting reacquainted with you and your sisters!

Bob