My long weeks of keeping my new hummingbird feeder filled and fresh and unmoldy seem to have paid off. I think the thing’s been hanging there since February, unused and unvisited.
This is probably the same male Anna’s hummingbird that divebombed Thistle the other day, driving him under the bearded iris leaves, and then surveyed his newfound domain from the top of the grape arbor. Thistle flinches now when he hears that characteristic little “svetchasvetchasvetch” hummer territory call.
Public Service Announcement: you do know, you hummer enthusiasts out there, that the red dye in commercial hummingbird feeder mix is neither necessary nor recommended, do you not? It’s cheaper and better for the birds if you make your own food. Four parts water to one part white table sugar, boil the water first, then mix in the sugar and stir until it’s completely dissolved, fill your (cleaned and rinsed) feeder and refrigerate the rest. Don’t use honey or maple syrup or brown sugar. They get their minerals and vitamins, protein fat and such from eating insects. The sugar is fuel to allow them to find, hunt, and consume said insects.
And on that note: though the little guys can hover just fine while feeding, it’s better if they can perch, as Thistle’s nemesis is doing here in this grainy, blurry, over-enlarged and Photoshop-sharpened image. This allows them to conserve energy for hunting and staying warm.
