[va-richmond-general] Re: Hummingbirds
- From: "Al & Linda Warfield" <warfield101@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <jimvb@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, "'RAS Listserv'" <va-richmond-general@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Thu, 2 Jun 2011 12:47:29 -0400
Jim,
That's very late. They usually arrive starting around April 7th. Most feeders
get them by the 15th. If you had it up in early April maybe you just missed
them. They come early in the morning usually. Also, I have a feeling that
putting the feeders out late in the spring may mean the birds won't find them
until after the spring feeding period.
Here are some useful tips for feeding hummers. If you are an expert already you
won't need them, but here they are if you are not.
For HB food, use 4 tbsp sugar to 1 cup water to make the liquid, not the red
stuff you buy. (The red dye is not good for them.) Some people boil the water
first but you don't need to. Heat it in the microwave if you want, then add the
sugar and dissolve. (Or just dissolve the sugar - it doesn't need heat to
dissolve.) Let it cool to at least luke warm before putting out. Unless you get
lots of hummers, put a little in the feeder, and the rest of it in the fridge
in a glass jar. Change it often, but especially if cloudy or has mold in it.
Bring it in and at least rinse between fillings.
We have found that when the HB stop coming, changing the liquid can bring them
back very quickly.
Clean the feeder with dilute bleach and detergent if it gets moldy, then rinse
the bejeebers out of it!
An ant trap above the feeder helps keep ants out - add water to it. Small birds
like to drink from the cup so keep water in there. You can buy an ant trap at
a bird feed store, or make it from a small plastic cup and a dowel. Email me if
you need help making it. I can give you details.
We hang the feeders from the gutters on the eves of the house using a bent
coathanger wire. That keeps squirrels and coons off too.
Another tip: if there are some trees or other perches within about 10 feet of
the feeder, that gives the birds a transition to the feeder.
Also, they like flowers nearby. Especially in early April when the males are
looking for a good area to attract females.
In late summer, into mid-September, RTHB (Ruby-throated hummers) feed heavily
and may be there all day. They are getting ready for migration. Keep fresh food
in the feeders and keep them clean.
Probably more than you wanted to know, but some people don't know all this
stuff. And I could only find a little info on the RAS website
(http://richmondaudubon.org). It's a little cryptic locating that info as well.
I'm sure some other people who know more than I do are seeing all kinds of
things I got wrong or left out, and would like to contribute. That could all be
collected, collated, and placed on the website in a conspicuous place labelled
RTHB so we would have a HB resource there. Just kidding about RTHB. Better use
the actual name or I'll get a bunch of irate mail!
Al Warfield
----- Original Message -----
From: Jim Blowers
To: 'RAS Listserv'
Sent: Thursday, June 02, 2011 8:52 AM
Subject: [va-richmond-general] Hummingbirds
We just got our first hummingbird on May 26. Is that unusually late?
Jim Blowers
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