I love spring when I hang my red-swirl-glass hummingbird feeder near my patio, and miraculously, by the end of the day, hummingbirds are darting in and out. I enjoy sitting in my chair as I watch the birds fly from a red calibrachoa in the window box to the feeder and then off to the branch in a nearby pine tree to rest for a moment.
There’s a quick and easy recipe for the nectar to fill the feeder.
• 1/4 cup refined white sugar
• 1 cup boiling water
Bring the water to a boil, add sugar, and stir until the sugar is dissolved. No need to add red food coloring; they’ll seek out the sweet scent. Don’t use honey as it may promote bacteria; white refined sugar is best. Let the mixture cool and fill your feeder. It’s best to change your mixture every few days, especially if it’s hot outside.
These little guys consume half their body weight in bugs and nectar, and feed almost constantly, every 10-15 minutes and visit thousands of flowers each day. You can plant flowers they love, such as calibrachoa, petunias, or any flower with a tubular shape. I’ve noticed they do love the color red; they even hover around the bright-red taillights of my truck as it sits in the driveway.
Enjoy the photos. It took me a while to get our little hummingbirds photographed as they are a lot faster than I am.
Post your photos, and I’d love to see them.
