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Ruby-throat Hummingbirds. Street Prophets Coffee Hour Sunday [1]

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Date: 2023-06-18

Welcome to the Street Prophets Coffee Hour, a place where politics meets up with religion, nature, art, and life. Come in, take a cuppa and a cookie (or three!) and join us.

It’s really full summer here in Kansas. Today is the last day the high is predicted to be in the high 80s. After this, we’re working our way up through the 90s to nearly 100° at the end of the month. We’ve had rain predicted, and storms all around us, for most of the week, but a shower in the pre-dawn hours today was all we actually got, enough to raise the humidity to an uncomfortable level.

Years ago, I moved my bird feeders from around my one-acre yard to my deck, where I can manage them more easily. Instead of 50, I have now about 20 in the winter, fewer in the summer. I have French doors from the kitchen opening onto the deck, so I put a chair there, where I can sit and watch the birds at close range without disturbing them. (I occasionally have to move a cat to get a seat.) Hummingbirds aren’t as skittish as many birds, so when I want to photograph them, I sit on the deck, as far from the feeders as practical, and stay very still. But that puts me out in the heat and humidity, so lately it’s more of the indoor birdwatching.

The fountains (there are three on the deck and one in the front yard) attract all kinds of birds, even ones I don’t have food for. But I do keep hummingbird feeders full and clean from the time the birds first appear in April (check the online migration map, don’t count on seeing the first ones) until two weeks after I think the last one has left in October. You’ll know they’re around if you hear a chittering sound in the trees.

There are several species of hummingbirds in the US, but in Kansas, the ruby throat is the only one we get. Some of you are lucky enough to get a whole variety.

Pretty sure this isn’t a hummingbird.

The hummingbirds are territorial and will chase away other hummers. They don’t exactly fight, but they will zoom at one that’s stationary, to scare it off. Sometimes you’ll see pictures with many hummingbirds around the feeders. The secret there is to have so many feeders that they can’t defend them all, and they give up. I have ten feeders right now. Maintaining them is a chore, so be sure you’re up to the commitment. Otherwise, just have one or two, and be satisfied with what you get. They’ll still be busy.

The feeding part is easy. I don’t cook the sugar. I pay a bit extra to buy baker’s sugar, which is extra fine granulated sugar that comes in a milk carton-type package. It mixes instantly, gets cloudy, and then clears quickly. Don’t add coloring. And don’t buy the red liquid sold in stores. The color of the feeder will attract the birds. Especially, don’t use powdered sugar. It has cornstarch in it and will gum up the insides of the hummers, with fatal results. I don’t fill the feeders very full at all. The hummers have long tongues that can reach down into the feeders, and they don’t drink a lot at a time. You don’t want to have to throw out a lot of the sugar water and waste it. I use about ½ cup of solution per feeder, never mind those that have the tall tanks. You and the birds can just admire the fancy glass, but it would be a real waste to fill those.

The cleaning part isn’t as easy. The feeders need to be cleaned at least every other day or the sugar will grow mold, which is deadly to the little birds. Right now, my cleaning schedule is M-W-F-S, so I can remember, but if I see even the tiniest bit of black mold, I’ll change to doing it every day. Wash every feeder, and take them apart. Be sure to clean the tiny access holes the birds use. Pay attention to where parts join because mold likes to start there. And if you do see a bit of mold, after a thorough washing, rinse well with vinegar. And then change how often you’re cleaning.

In the late spring you may get an oriole or two, and all summer you will see insects. If ants are a huge problem at your feeders, there are ant moats to intercept them on the hangers. But a few tiny insects aren’t a problem. Hummingbirds may be drinking the nectar of flowers, but they may also be harvesting the tiny insects inside. They aren’t vegetarians!

While you’re here, check out this week’s Community Needs List, and, if you’re inclined and able, see if there’s someone you can help.

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[1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/6/18/2176149/-Ruby-throat-Hummingbirds-Street-Prophets-Coffee-Hour-Sunday

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