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IT IS HARD TO KEEP HUMMER FEEDERS DISEASE-FREE DURING A HEAT WAVE

Jun25

        It is important that hummingbird nectar be as fresh as possible.  This task is much harder to accomplish task during our heat wave.  With daily temperatures in the 90s and feel like temperatures reaching triple digits, bacteria and mold are currently growing more rapidly than normal.

       If hummingbird food becomes cloudy and/or black spots appear inside a feeder, you have a serious problem.  These are signs that the nectar in your feeder is unfit for hummingbirds.

The reason for this is the nectar in your feeder is contaminated with viruses, mold and/or bacteria. These organisms can cause the birds multiple problems including attacking the birds’ beaks, and tongues and causing gastrointestinal problems.

       The solution to this problem is to wash and refills feeders more frequently than normal.

HAVE ANY CASES OF AVIAN FLU BEEN FOUND IN HUMMINGBIRDS?

May7

       As far as I know, there have been no cases of avian flu hummingbirds have been reported.  It seems that the wild birds that have been affected the most by the virus are raptors (e.g. hawks and eagles), and waterfowl (e.g. ducks and geese).

       However, this is not to say that hummingbirds are immune from the dreaded disease.  One of the reasons why it has not been found in wild hummingbirds could be that their life style lessens they will come in close contact birds that have a greater chance of being infected by avian flu

       If I ever hear of hummingbirds contracting avian flu, I will let you know.

Adult Male Ruby-Throated

BEEBALM IS A HUMMINGBIRD, BEE AND BUTTERFLY MAGNET

Mar26

       Beebalm (Monardo didyma) is also known as Oswego tea or monarda), is a plant that anyone trying to attract hummingbirds, bees, butterflies and other pollinators need to plant in their backyard. This perennial native is easy grow and produces flowers from June into September.  It grows to a height of one to five feet.  Beebalm grows best in moist to dry soil types.  It will grow in partial shade to full sun.

       The plant’s flowers attract a number of species of butterflies ranging from the eastern tiger swallowtail, and fritillaries, to whites and sulphurs.  It is also visited by snowberry clearwing moths (better known as hummingbird moths).

       Some of the native bees attracted to the plant are sweat bees, carpenter bees, digger bees, leaf-cutter bees and mason bees.

       After the colorful blooms die, American goldfinches, sparrows and others eat beebalm seeds.

A TRULY AMAZING HUMMINGBIRD STORY

Mar2

        One of the things I most enjoy about writing The Backyard Wildlife Connection is fellow bloggers share with all of us a wealth of information regarding ways to enhance backyards for wildlife as well as stories regarding experiences with their wildlife neighbors.

       When I read the blog found below, I knew I just had to share it with you.   The piece was written in response to a   Backyard Secret regarding how hummingbirds recognize human faces.

       I hope you will enjoy this story as much as I did.

Thu, Feb 27 at 10:08 AM

I found a baby hummingbird a couple years back in blackberry bushes. Her wing was pierced, and I took her home and syringe fed her sugar water until she could fly again and let her go. I named her hummer and she would always fly back to our apartment and say hi, even bumping the window to get our attention. We moved and I thought I wouldn’t see her again. Fast forward a couple years and we moved into the apartments right next to the ones we lived in when I found her. We were outside and she hit my fiancés leg to get her attention and flew off, I thought it was her but I wasn’t quite sure until about a week later I saw a hummingbird from our balcony. I called her name, “Hummer” and she flew straight at me and my fiancé, like, she got about 2 feet away from us, hovered for a bit, and flew off. I thought it might’ve been a fluke but about 5 minutes later I saw her again a little further back than before and I called her name again, “Hummer” and she flew straight at us again! I know she recognizes me for sure and she even comes to her name! My fiancé tried as well to call her and she went to her too, even though she wasn’t around hummer that much, maybe 2 days. I just wanted to share.

Lucian W

RUBY-THROATED HUMMINGBIRDS ARE COMING HOME

Feb27

      For months ruby-throated hummingbirds have been wintering from Panama northward through Central America and southern Mexico.  Over the next few weeks these long-distance migrants will embark on their spring migration.

      The males are the first to arrive in the Peach State.  Typically, they reach extreme South Georgia as early as March 1.  From there they move steadily northward at a pace of roughly 23 miles per day.  Adult males reach my middle Georgia backyard toward the end of the second week in March.  The females follow the males about nine days later.

       With that in mind, if you are a hummingbird fancier, now sis the time to take a hummingbird feeder or two off the shelf, make a batch of nectar, pour some in a feeder, and hang it up in your backyard. Then all you can do is patiently wait for the arrival of your first hummingbird of the year.

       Here is a tip: do not fill your feeders to the brim.  This is because initially you will be feeding only one or two birds at a time.  Consequently, if you fill up your feeders early in the hummingbird season, most of the nectar will spoil long before the birds can consume all of it.

       For the past several years, I have been recording the arrival dates of the first male and female rubythroats.  With that in mind, I would greatly appreciate it if you would report the arrival the first male and female that you see.  Please include t the name of the county where you live when you file your report.

       I know you are excited, as I am that ruby-throated hummingbirds will soon be patrolling our backyards.  Beyond any doubt they enrich our lives.

CLOSE ENCOUNTERS WITH RUBYTHROATS

Sep26

      Ruby-throated hummingbirds exhibit many behaviors that endear themselves to us.  One of my favorites is their habit of flying right up to our faces, hover, and stare directly at us before suddenly zipping off.

       A couple of weeks ago, while I was hanging a feeder full of fresh nectar on a Shepherd’s hook, a hummer that was flying about anxiously awaiting me to complete my task so that it could resume feeding, flew up within a foot of my face and hovered. While he hovered there, I heard the humming of its rapidly beating wings. I stared into the bird’s dark eyes, and he stared back into mine.  It displayed no fear.  Then, in the blink of an eye, it was gone.

       Unbeknownst me, on the same day, half a state away my daughter was treated with a close encounter with a hummingbird of her own. While standing near the entrance to a veterinary office a hummingbird flew up to what appeared to be a red power cutoff switch.  The bird briefly hovered in front of the bright red switch and immediately flew to within inches of her face. The bird seemed to be transfixed with the red and black shoulder strap attached to the purse.  In a few seconds, it departed as quickly as it arrived, leaving my daughter trying to process what just happened.

 

       When events such as these occur, we never know why hummingbirds display this heart-stopping behavior.  In my case, I believe the bird did not shy away from me because it recognized my face; I am the one that has been refilling feeders at these locations for weeks on end. This belief stems from research that proves hummingbirds are capable of facial recognition.

       The reason why the bird flew so closely to her could possibly be it was checking out potential sources of food.  Since hummingbirds seem to associate red with food, perhaps the bird thought the red color on the shoulder strap and switch were flowers.  Who knows?

       In the end, it matters not why such encounters take place. The fact is such experiences happen more often with hummingbirds than any other bird.  As such, it helps make the birds so very special.

       It is always exciting to have a close encounter with a hummingbird.  There is something exhilarating about looking deep into its eyes.  When this happens to me, I cannot help but wonder what it is thinking about when it looks into my eyes.  What I do know is, when we experience a close encounter with a hummingbird, we are forging a link with the natural world.

        My wife and I have hosted a huge number of hummingbirds this summer.  Many days my wife prepared 16 cups of nectar to keep up with their seemingly insatiable appetite.  The combination of feeding and watching so many hummers and having a close encounter with one at the end of the season, caps off a hummingbird summer we will long remember.

 

BACKYARD SECRET—HOW FAR DO RUBYTHROATS MIGRATE PER DAY?

Sep11

        As we all know, the ruby-throated hummingbird migration is taking place right now.  With this in mind, have you ever wondered how far a rubythroat travels overland en route to its winter home?

       The answer is according to hummingbird experts the tiny birds that pass through our yards on their fall and spring migrations average flying 23 miles per day.

MORE ON JORO SPIDERS

Aug29

      Joro spiders continue to spread across Georgia.  Wherever they establish themselves, hosts of homeowners find themselves on the front line of battle against this foreign invader.  Recently, two of our fellow bloggers shared their experiences with these large predators.  Below you will find what they have to say.

Susan says:

I just freed a baby boy hummingbird from a Joro spider web.  I did not take a picture, he was screaming and fighting to get loose, poor baby, it took a while to pick off all the webbing and smooth out his feathers-after being a little frantic in my hand he settled down and let me turn him every which way to free him.  Luckily, when I was done, he flew away.  I sweep the webs down daily that are around the house and in the flower beds but I missed this one.  I live in Toccoa, Ga.  I hate Joro spiders and kill as many as I can.  They are not supposed to live here and are harmful to our natives.

Penny says:

Perhaps I can provide some information about how Joro spiders adversely affect hummers: the first point is these huge spiders weave very large webs, and their “silk” is much stronger than the average spider.  If you ever ran into one, you would know because you can literally hear snapping as they break.

Joros are very observant and intelligent creatures, and they weave their webs where their food of interest frequents.  There have been numerous reports of hummers flying into Joro webs that are merely inches from nectar feeders.  Hummers also encounter webs in large flowering bushes such as lantanas.  Joro web silk is incredibly strong, and hummers fly right into the webs and cannot free themselves.

It pays to visit your feeders and bushes and remove the webs periodically.  I hope this helps!

 

KEEPING UNWANTED CRITTERS FROM HUMMER FEEDERS

Aug25

        One of the things I like about writing a blog is that bloggers share techniques that they have found benefit their wildlife neighbors and/or to enhance our ability to provide a place for them to find food, water and shelter in our backyards.

       Here is a tip a blogger recently shared with us.

       Carol wrote, “Hang your hummingbird feeders securely on hooks installed under the eaves of your house.  Very few predators can access it.  I hang them outside our dining room windows on the shade side of the house to protect the sugar water from fermenting.  I put 2 or 3 pieces of blue tape on the outside window glass so the little birds know that they can’t fly through it.”

       Thanks, Carol, for sharing your hummingbird feeding tip!”

IT IS GLOSSY ABELIA TIME

Aug18

       If you are searching for a shrub that produces an abundance of blooms and nectar for hummingbirds, butterflies, bees and other pollinators, glossy abelia just might be the plant for you.

       From summer well into fall, a time when many flowering plants have already quit blooming or are slowly fading away, glossy abelia is in full bloom.

       This shrub is a hybrid that was once commonly  grown around homes during the first half of the 20th century. However, for reasons I do not understand, it fell out of favor. Consequently, it rarely graces new homes.

       However, there are a number of reasons for folks to find a place for it in their home landscapes. Glossy abelia is a medium sized shrub.  It is both deer and drought tolerant, produces beautiful flowers that provide food for honeybees, native bees, butterflies, hummingbirds and other pollinators.  However, it does not produce seeds.

       The shrub requires little maintenance.  About all you need to do to ensure it produces lots of flowers from year to year is the prune it in the winter or early spring. This is due to the fact  its blossoms form on new wood.

       Since the glossy abelias are in full bloom, this is a good time to check them out  at your local nursery.  If you are not familiar with the plant, I am sure you are going to fall in love with its small pinkish white, bell shaped blossoms and the fact this hard shrub requires little care.