No, not the rolling gas hogs, but the lovely flying jewels that grace North America from spring until fall. This year marks the earliest arrival to our location in Middle/West Tennessee since I started keeping track of their arrival times in 2000. We had our first male Ruby-throated on the evening of March 26, 2009. The females have yet to arrive here. Right away I started cooking up a batch of hummingbird 'food' since the flowers that are their primary source of food in the form of nectar have yet to open. Small insects are another staple of their diet. I will continue to feed them throughout their time here, which is usually October.
I've never felt the need to purchase 'hummingbird food' but have always made my own. There is no need to offer them the artificial coloring that comes in store bought mixtures!! Here is my recipe:
Bring 4 cups of water to a rolling boil
Add 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
Return to boil and boil for 1 minute
Allow to cool then fill your feeder~simple and easy. Store unused mixure in the refridgerator.
Next time we'll talk about the proper way to clean a hummingbird feeder~NO SOAP, just hot water and bleach.
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2 comments:
i bought my gramma and mom and a few others hummin feeders before.
Aren't they cute? I think I might have seen one once. Might have to get myself a feeder! Of course they wouldn't be here yet - we still have snow.
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