Hummingbirds

If they have not arrived in your area yet, hopefully they will be there soon. We love hummingbirds here and will frequently lay on my bed and watch them at the feeder right outside my window. We also have another feeder that actually attaches to the kitchen window but they are pretty skittish with us so close to them.

We fill the feeders frequently with our homemade sugar water. Mix 1 part sugar to 4 parts water and bring to a boil. Once the sugar has dissolved, allow to cool before pouring into your feeders.

In addition to our feeders we also try to grow plants that the hummingbirds enjoy. On 5/3/11 we posted how to make seed tapes and one of the seed tapes we made is for the hummingbirds. They love the Red Cypress Vine we planted. They also like the White Cypress Vine but the red really draws their attention. In addition to these plants we also have:

Cardinal Flower
Beebalm
Blue Lobelia
Giant Hyssop
Coral Bells
Columbine
Petunia
Nicotiana
Hostas
Butterfly Bushes

Get outside and plant some things to bring hummingbirds into your yard. They are amazing animals:

Hummers can fly 25-30mph.
Their wings move in a figure 8 when flapping.
They lay 2 eggs, each about 1/2 inch long. That is a tiny egg.
They can not walk as their feet are too tiny. Their feet are only food for perching so even if they want to move 6 inches, they must fly.
They consume 50% of their body weight each day!
Hummingbirds flap their wings from 50-200 times per second!
There are 17 species of Hummingbirds in North America. In Kentucky we get the Ruby Throated Hummingbird.
They must eat constantly and could actually starve to death within one hour.
Hummingbirds are very territorial and will even take on much larger birds to ensure food and safety for their young.
The Bee Hummingbird is the smallest bird in the world and measures in at only 2 inches long.
Hummingbirds are the only birds that are eaten by an insect. If a praying mantis catches a hummingbird it will eat it.