Hummingbirds are found all over North and South America and the Caribbean. Famous for their ability to hover and their skill at flying backwards, hummingbirds can hover by continuously flapping their wings at speeds as fast as 80 times a second.
The Bee Hummingbird is the smallest bird in the world at just 2 inches long and around 1.8 grams. The Giant Hummingbird is the largest hummingbird at 24 grams and approximately 8 inches long. Hummingbirds have the fastest metabolism of any birds and to maintain this they have to eat their own weight and more in food every day. So that they can do this they must visit five hundred or more blooms every day to collect the nectar. They have long tongues and bills to reach right into the flowers. They have the ability decrease their metabolisms when at rest, unlike most other high metabolism animals. This extends their lifespan, which can be as long as 18 years.
Making A Hummingbird Friendly Garden
To attract hummingbirds to your garden you could plant brilliantly coloured flowers and shrubs. The sense of smell of Hummingbirds is very poor but they are attracted to intense colours. Placing a a speciality hummingbird feeder in your garden or on your patio will be a focus for these charming birds. Plant annuals include petunia, salvia, beard tongue, jacobinia, firespike and impatiens. Some perennial plants include hosta, hummingbird mint, cardinal flower, canna, bee balm and columbine. For shrubs and trees select azalea, buddleia, cape honeysuckle, mimosa, weigela, flame acanthus, lantana, red buckeye and tree tobacco.
Do not use any insecticides in your garden as you will destroy insects and bugs that hummingbirds eat. They also leave residues on the flowers which the hummingbirds could ingest. Also provide plenty of places to perch as they spend in the region of eighty percent of their time sitting on twigs, clothes lines etc. Make available plants that will provide nesting materials to be a focus for the females. They have a preference for feathery nesting material from trees such as eucalyptus and willow and from ferns, mosses and lichens.
Hanging brightly coloured, hummingbird feeders in your garden will create a center of attention for the hummingbirds. A good suggestion is to fix red ribbons that blow all around the feeder. It’s also a good idea to provide feeders at assorted heights as hummingbird species all have distinctive preferences. Species that favor plants that are low growing will go to a feeder placed lower whilst species that feed on taller flowers and shrubs will prefer to visit a feeder positioned higher. Hummingbirds are also extremely territorial and one hummingbird might defend a particular feeder and stop other birds from approaching. Put no less than three feeders at various heights all around your garden.
Hummingbirds love to bathe in the mist on leaves so you might set a mister close to some broadleaved shrubs to give them a bathing place.
How to Make Hummingbird Nectar
A sweet nectar can be made by blending together one cup of sugar with 4 cups of pre-boiled water. Cool and store in the refrigerator. Unused nectar can safely be kept for approximately 7 days. Thoroughly wash hummingbird feeders every week by rinsing with a solution of one cup of vinegar to four cups of water then rinsing with clean water. Re-fill with the sugar solution and suspend in the shade. Don’t add food coloring or sweeteners. Also don’t use honey as it can ferment and be the source of a a harmful fungus. Swap the nectar in the feeder every two or three days or more often when the weather is hotter.
Conclusion
It is not hard to make a garden to appeal to these lovely birds. Give them the food they love and a safe setting and hummingbirds will visit your garden often.
See more garden craft ideas at Easy Craft Ideas
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