It's a hummingbird summer! Keep feeders filled

After literally at least a dozen summers with only a lonely hummer or two, it’s finally a hummingbird year! My cup runneth over with delight as I hang out feeders every other day for my first-time-ever large population of the tiny bejeweled beauties. And best of all, I’ve identified several species that are not generally seen in our area.

I’ve seen feisty Rufous — generally most common at my place; Anna’s (the only hummingbird with a red crown); Broad-tailed similar to Allen’s, but a bit larger and with its namesake broad-tailed feather spread ; tiny Calliope; Allen’s; Ruby-throat; and even the rare (to me) purple-throated Costas.

The Black-chinned hummingbird (which trills while flying) also boasts glorious purple throat-feathers.

I’ve noted that from the front (without sun) the green-backed Allen’s resembles the Rufous, but when viewed overall, the all-reddish brown of the Rufous makes it unmistakable. Too, the Rufous is always the feisty one of the crowd; not the largest, but probably the most fearless and “pushy” of them all. Though the Calliope — with its classic red-striped breast- is the smallest of all, it vies as fiercely as the Rufous for its turn at the feeders and when all is said and done, everyone gets their fair share. Often, all of the species will be represented at once for a super front deck spectacle.

It’s always amazing to me to note how drab they all seem until they break into the sunshine; suddenly their throats are afire with brilliant red, red-orange, or purple!

Their daily battle at my two front-porch overhang feeders is a constant source of laughter, and when an Anna’s mama brought her tiny flier to the feeder, I felt her frustration as she tried to get the youngling to find the flower-shaped feeding hole. It did eventually, and has now joined other adults and youngsters of the various species.

Just in case you are new to hummingbird feeders, here’s the recipe: Bring 4 cups of fresh cold tap water to a boil, add 1 cup of pure granulated sugar (I use C&H Cane sugar rather than beet or corn sugar, but it probably doesn’t matter — just so it’s plain white granulated sugar)*.

Let it boil a minute or so till completely dissolved, remove from heat to cool and refrigerate till time to put into the feeder. No color is necessary — most feeders have red on them as an attractant anyhow.

If you’ve considered buying pre-made or nectar mix– please think again. I took the time to read the ingredients and was aghast! There were about 17 listed, beginning with distilled water, fructose, sucrose — and on and on from there including artificial red food coloring (bad enough for humans let alone tiny hummingbirds) and three added vitamins — plus some added minerals. If you are reading this, and have used purchased nectar, please reconsider and make your own.

*Consider if someone decided to use, say, Splenda, instead of granulated sugar, it would doubtless ultimately prove fatal to the tiny hummingbird, since it contains aspartame, as does Nutrasweet, Sweet and Low, and a host of other artificial sweeteners, all to be avoided at all costs. Honey, by the way, while natural and healthful for most humans, is a no-no in nectar for hummingbirds! It lacks what they need in nutrition, and while they may drink it, they will literally starve to death on it!

Feeders, fortunately, are not truly necessary — a floral landscape will fill the bill nicely for your hummer population. I have a great number of fuchsia-colored Betony plants in bloom, and they support many hummers, as well as butterflies and bees. This is all a wonderful thing for me (and all of us) since the alarming decrease in numbers of all birds — locally and nationally - chickadees, nuthatches, Juncos and various finches — as well as the “travelers” such as the waxwings and grosbeaks has declined alarmingly over the past decades.

The dedication of 2018 as The Year of the Bird” will hopefully shine a bright light on the many problems out there, and provide some awakenings and action to address the challenges of the poisons of Monsanto, Bayer’s Neonics (nicotinoids) and habitat-loss by burgeoning human expansion, along with other considerations such as pipelines. These have all brought about a horrendous decimation of bird-life that includes songbirds, water-birds and other migrators, and ground-dwellers (burrowing owls, Cactus wrens, Prairie chickens, Sage hens, etc.), totaling an average of over 60,000 bird deathsa day. We must all do the best we can for our trusting feathered and/or other winged residents. What more delightful weapon than flower gardens?

Valle Novak writes the Country Chef and Weekend Gardener columns for the Daily Bee. She can be reached at bcdailybee@bonnercountydailybee.com or by phone at 208-265-4688.