Just about the time flowers start blooming, things that thrive on flowers start gathering - nectar feeding flies, butterflies, moths, and birds.
Speaking of birds (and don’t even pretend you are surprised that the focus of this column has come around to birds) there is one archetypical nectar feeding bird species that is common in the Cape May area. This is the hummingbird.
Did he say common?
I did. The Ruby-throated Hummingbird is a common summer resident in Cape May County. Human residents who live in or near woodlands have overlapping territories with hummingbirds. That makes you very fortunate indeed because clearly, hummingbirds are magical creatures. They glitter. They hum. They hover, fly backwards, and, when it comes to humans, they are virtually fearless.
Wear a red hat or a red shirt. Stand in a hummingbird-rich environment. You are very likely to enjoy close scrutiny by a hummingbird who has mistaken you for the mother of all blossoms. But don’t let your attention wander or you’ll miss the encounter. It doesn’t take a hummingbird long to conclude that you are not as sweet as you seem and be suddenly elsewhere.
Poof! Magic is like that.
You can make amends for your tasteless subterfuge by offering hummingbirds something that they will like. That is sugar water. Offered in specially designed and well maintained hummingbird feeders - just add sugar water and you can attract magic into your yard from late April to late September.
Now it’s possible, just possible that you have heard that sugar water is bad for hummingbirds. Sugar water is, after all, fertile ground for fermentation, right? Birds that fly as fast as hummingbirds and have needle-like bills probably shouldn’t fly drunk.
That is why the phrase “well maintained” was italicized. In warm weather, hummingbird feeders should be emptied, rinsed, and refilled every day (every other day at the latest). Mix up a batch of sugar water for several days use (4 parts boiled water; 1 part sugar) and when cooled put in a clean (for hummingbird food only) container. Put only a measure of solution in the feeder at any time (less than half a feeder full is plenty in the summer). Refrigerate the rest to keep it from fermenting. Every week or so, give the feeder a good washing with soap and water (or vinegar and water). Rinse well.
Do not use red dye. It isn’t necessary.
There are hummingbird feeders and there are hummingbird feeders. Some are very attractive (to humans) and very unattractive (to hummingbirds). Why the disparity? Because hummingbirds are more interested in designs that facilitate feeding while often, humans are interested in designs that are more artsy than practical.
If hummingbirds could talk, they would try to impress upon humans the wisdom of K.I.S.S. (keep it simple, stupid). But hummingbirds don’t communicate in words (explaining perhaps, why they hum). Fortunately for them, there is a person who understands the hummingbird need for a simple, cheap, easy to use and easy to clean hummingbird feeder. Her name is Sheri Williamson. She is the author of the Peterson Field Guide to the Hummingbirds of North America.
So when the Aspects Company needed a person to tell them how to design a simple and safe hummingbird feeder, they went to Sheri. The result was the HummZinger. A hummingbird feeder that really works (gets Cape May Bird Observatory’s endorsement as well as the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology).
But when it comes to feeders, only one vote counts. That is the vote of the bird that uses it. Hummingbirds vote with their wings and their bills. Last July, at the Cape May Bird Observatory’s Center for Research and Education (in Goshen), the vote in favor of the HummZinger was about 75 to 0. We calculate that about 75 hummingbirds were using the feeders here at peak season.
Two last points. While hummingbird feeders will attract hummingbirds, hummingbird feeders used in conjunction with hummingbird-friendly yards are more attractive still. Hummingbirds and flowers (particularly vase-like flowers) have a long, fruitful history. Plant hummingbird-friendly gardens and magic will come your way.
Also, be aware that in summer, hummingbirds spend a great deal of time pursuing insects (which are fed to hummingbird nestlings). They may only stop at your feeder for a quick pick-me-up now and again. But from mid-July through September, you’ll find that hummingbird visits to your feeder(s) will increase as this year’s young fledge and as migrating hummingbirds swarm into our area.
Why not just wait until peak season to put up a hummingbird feeder? Because hummingbirds aren’t the only birds that drink nectar. Orioles also feed on nectar (and by mid-August, many breeding Orchard Orioles have already left Cape May).
Can’t you just go to CMBO and watch the hummingbirds at their feeders? Sure, but wouldn’t you like to have a little magic in your own back yard?
Hmmmm?