Flying Jewels, Humming Bird tips

Note: This post was scheduled to post on May 25th...I am not sure what the glitch was. Now my "perfect record" of posting every day is ruined!...well, not really, last winter another scheduled post did not show up, either. But believe me, I am staying focused on this goal even though it doesn't always work the way I plan. This teaches me that even when I am away from home for the day, I need to check the blog to make sure a post goes out when I ask it to :) 


Humming birds are flying jewels of summer.

At least, that is what I think. :)

Like annual flowers, humming birds grace our gardens for a season. They hangout in  our gardens until Autumn winds signal the time to move to warmer climes.

I love humming birds because seeing a little darter suddenly appear like magic from seemingly out of nowhere is always a delight and a surprise. It takes me away, for just a moment or two, of what was on my mind, giving it a much needed relief :)

It is no surprise to me that my favorite poet Robert Frost wrote this lovely tribute to humming birds. 

 A Prayer in Spring

Oh, give us pleasure in the flowers to-day;

And give us not to think so far away

As the uncertain harvest; keep us here

All simply in the springtime of the year.

Oh, give us pleasure in the orchard white,

Like nothing else by day,like ghosts by night;

And make us happy in the happy bees,

The swarm dilating round the perfect trees.

And make us happy in the darting bird

That suddenly above the bees is heard

The meteor that thrusts in with needle bill,

And off a blossom in mid air stands still.

For this is love and nothing else is love,

The which it is reserved for God above

To sanctify to what ends He will,

But which it only needs that we fullfill.

  

Humming Bird Species in Ohio  is a good place to get information on humming birds that come to our area. "Ohio residents have no trouble enjoying the many Ruby-throated hummingbirds that inhabit the state roughly from April through September, but hummingbird species in Ohio are very limited. There are only two other species of hummingbirds that have also been documented in Ohio, they are the Rufous Hummingbird and the Calliope Hummingbird".

Here are a few tips that will have humming birds love you as much as you love them:

Feeding

Please do not buy the humming bird feeder mix from stores that have red food coloring in them. The food coloring supposedly helps to attract the birds, but humming bird feeders do that job, and the red dye can be harmful to the birds.

And, really, making the nectar at home is easy. All you need is 1 part sugar to 4 parts water. You can boil the water and add the the sugar to help dissolve it, but sometimes I just use hot water from my tap. 

When the sugar is dissolved, pour it into the feeder, then put your feeder in a place you can enjoy it. I have one feeder outside my big kitchen window so that we can enjoy the birds while we dine.

Maintenance 

It is really important to keep the feeders clean, so check them often. If ants have invaded the feeder, toss the food and clean the feeder because chances are the birds will not feed if they see ants.

To clean the feeder, rinse with warm water. If it is really dirty or you see gray mold, fill the feeder with warm water, add a few drops of bleach, and swish with a bottle brush. Rise with fresh water and you're good to go! 

Plants

So what is the thought behind putting red dye in humming bird food? These flighty little creatures are attracted to red and orange colored flowers. That is why most humming bird feeders have plastic "blossoms" around the feeding holes. 

The World of Humming Birds website has section dedicated to planting a humming bird garden. Check it out here.

If you do not have the space, time, or money to devote to a garden, you can always place a hanging basket near the area of your feeders. Good ones to try are petunias and fuchsias. I've also had humming birds come to a good-old, hardy standby, the ivy geranium. This page on Birds and Blooms website has a list of plants and hanging basket ideas for attracting humming birds.

If you don't want to be bothered with watering a hanging plant or making a full-blown humming bird garden, another option is to put a few plants like zinnias or nasturtiums near the feeder.

When a bright jewel catches your eye at an unexpected moment, you'll be happy that you took the time to make humming birds welcome in your world.

Marcheta *color my world with flying jewels