How To Attract Hummingbirds

of all the wonders and outdoor Alabama perhaps the most fascinating is the hummingbird there are over 200 species of hummingbirds in the Americas but fewer than two dozen danger is far north as North America in fact there are 12 species of hummingbirds that can be seen in Alabama but by far the ruby-throated hummingbird is the most common since the ruby-throated hummingbird is the one you're most likely to see we're going to focus on some interesting facts they'll help you attract and hold hummingbirds in your yard hummingbirds are the smallest birds in the world the average ruby-throated homer is three and a half inches long and weighs one eighth of an ounce males have an emerald green back iridescent ruby red throat that may appear black in some lighting gray flanks Forktail with no white and is smaller than the female the female has an emerald green back white breast and throat a rounded tail with white tips Hummers are incredible fliers that can fly forward and back lips they are the only birds that can hover in flight these beautiful little birds have an incredible metabolism that choirs sixty-eight feedings per hour their heartbeat ranges from 250 beats per minute while resting to 1200 beats per minute while feeding the female lays two pea-sized eggs and a mess not much larger than a walnut the nest is constructed on a foundation of the bud scales and attached to a tree limb with spider silk lichens camouflage the outside and the inside is lined with dandelion cattail or thistledown eggs are incubated 12 to 14 days baby hummingbirds fledge around 21 days after hatching and the female would continue feeding them for another 10 days the male takes no part in nesting our reading of yours one more interesting fact about hummingbirds and ruby-throated hunters in particular is that they migrate many winter in South America and fly across the Gulf of Mexico to reach their breeding grounds in some cases as much as 500 miles this flight normally takes around 20 hours if you are interested in attracting hummingbirds to your yard there are several things you can do to make that happen hummingbirds are attracted to bright colors red and orange in particular flowers such as Lantana salvia butterfly bush and honeysuckle can be planted in your garden to attract hummingbirds these flowering plants provide more than just the nectar hunters needs they provide the insects as Hummers need four essential nutritional elements another popular way to attract climbers to your yard is the use of feeders Hummers have eight power vision and can see feeders from as far as 3/4 a mile away there are all shapes and sizes of feeders available you could even buy the liquid feed pre-mixed you can also make the feed yourself simply mix one part sugar with four parts boiling water the boiling water helps dissolve the sugar and removes impurities from the water let the solution cool before pouring it into the feeder a combination of colorful flowers and feeders worked well to attract and hold large numbers of hummingbirds hang the feeder where hummingbirds can access it from all sides one useful tip is to put vegetable oil on the line or wire that hangs the feeder this will help keep ants from climbing down to the feeder clean feeders are important to the health of your hummingbirds when the weather is hot change the sugar water every three or four days clean the feeder each time you change sugar water by using a brush and hot tap water at least once a month thoroughly clean the feeders with a mixture of 1/4 cup bleach per gallon of water soak the feeders in the bleach solution for one hour and then scrub with a brush rinse thoroughly and dry before refilling hummingbirds are very territorial many times when one bird starts using a feeder others will follow males will set up territories around the feeder and defend it not allowing other Hummers to use it the aerial combat that follows is fun to watch if the combat gets too intense put another feeder up on the other side of your yard hummingbirds need to eat on average 7 times per hour for about 30 to 60 seconds a hummer can eat anywhere from 1/2 to 8 times its body weight in a single day they visit an average of 1,000 flowers per day for nectar and play a huge role in pollination of plants plumbers cannot feed at night so they slow their metabolism rate to a hibernation like state called torpor in this state of Hummers metabolic rate is one fifteenth of normal sleep and conserves up to 60% of the birds available energy these little birds are all energy and fun they're easy to attract and hold and they provide more than enough entertainment to justify the small amount of effort it takes to have them around you

Channel: OutdoorAlabama

Views: 265,870

Rating: 4.9150767 out of 5

Keywords: Hummingbirds, How to attrack hummingbirds, How to clean hummingbird feeders, Hummingbird feeders, Hummingbird (Organism Classification), Birds, Alabama, Ruby Throated Hummingbird, Ruby Throated, Hummingbird eggs, Hummingbird nest, Bird (Organism Classification), Hummingbird flowers

Id: eR8zpEvJbyo

Length: 6min 58sec (418 seconds)

Published: Tue Jun 18 2013