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| Photo courtesy National Audubon Society |
Now that it’s July, hopefully you are enjoying the flowering plants you added to your garden to attract pollinators. In addition to the butterflies and bees, July also brings a second opportunity to bring colorful hummingbirds to your landscape. The hummingbirds will be looking for sources of food and will remain in the area for several months.
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| Photo courtesy PerkyPet.com |
If you choose to add a hummingbird feeder, a simple sugar water solution is all you may need to additional nutrition for the birds if you don’t have flowers that may attract them. See the article below from the Bird Conservancy for the proportions of water to sugar. Since we are experiencing very hot weather this summer, keep in mind this means that you will need to keep checking the feeder to ensure that the sugar solution doesn’t spoil in the heat. If the solution does spoil, the hummingbirds will avoid your feeder. Clean the feeder well with mild soap and water and rinse well each time you add fresh solution. Check to be sure that your feeder is placed so that it can’t be accessed by animals that might be in your yard and would prey on these small birds.
Many people think that honey might be a good natural sugar to make the solution but it is not recommended and can even lead to the death of the hummingbirds. In addition keeping the feeder clean and with fresh solution, planning to add some favorite plants for feeding will help keep them revisiting your yard and give them a natural source of food.
One misconception is that if you place a hummingbird feeder out, that it can cause issues with them not migrating properly. According to the Bird Conservancy, this is not true. In fact they state you can even keep your feeder out until October to help give them some last minute nutrition before they begin their long migration journey.
The impact of reduced natural environments that provides food, water and shelter has become a big issue for all of our pollinators and native birds including the hummingbirds. Following a few simple steps to provide a food and shelter source helps these wonderful birds. For more information and tips about hummingbirds, see the articles, website and blog articles below.
Bird Conservancy of the Rockies
JeffcoGardener: The Hummers are Coming
Creating Pollinator Habitat
Hummingbird Migration
JeffcoGardener: The Hummers are Coming
Creating Pollinator Habitat
Hummingbird Migration
