Saturday, August 23, 2014

Humming Birds, Who Can Resist?

Lately I have been reading about hummingbirds and their likes. I have bought stuff from the store, you know the pre-made stuff but still yet my hummingbirds do not frequent my feeders. My parents on the other hand have so many flying about they can not keep up. I had to ask my mom what she does. 

1 part sugar 
2 parts water
and a touch of red food coloring (I have read on another site that food coloring does not matter, thats bull. My hummingbirds did not go to their clear food)

Okay this is an update to the above recipe. Seems since posting this I have caught some flack on adding red food coloring. There are NO proven studies that say this is harmful, so I am not hurting my hummers. Yes maybe my sugar to water ratio is a bit much but they do not eat from the feeders unless its this sweet. Next time I will try 1 to 3. But once again this does not harm my hummers. They use this as a source of energy, it is not a dietary supplement or their whole meals. Hummingbirds have a very very high metabolism so this ratio would not harm them anyway. Want to know where I get my sources? Here are the links
SNOPES
Hummingbirds.net
Those are just some, for every post that says its harmful can be met with another one that says there is no scientific proof.

You should clean your feeders regularly. Like for example if the sugar water sits to long it will sour. My parents do not even get a chance to do this. The birds suck this stuff down so quickly she has to fill them almost every single day. 

At my place I have 2 hummingbirds. 2 that frequently visit my feeder. Filling them up is not necessary. One thing though, if their feeders are empty or not there, they do come searching for me. I had one actually come flying to my window and was peeking in for awhile. Then another time I walked out my door and one about pinged me as soon as I walked out. 
Another rule on keeping your hummingbirds happy is keep their feeders and food out there all the time. If not they will hunt you down! 




“If my love could be represented by a blur, it would be the beating of a hummingbird’s wings. Did you know that my love is the only love that can fly backwards?
” 
Jarod Kintz





Camera Critters

14 comments:

  1. Cool shots of your hummers.. I use four cups of boiled water and 1 cup of sugar..the dye is not necessary. Thanks so much for linking up and sharing your post. Have a happy weekend!

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  2. When I did not use the food coloring they were not around so yeah I had to use it. Arkansas hummers may be different

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  3. ...and it's just the opposite here...they don't go for the red nectar but the sugar water...I think your ratio may have a lot to do with it...it's 1 part sugar and 4 parts water. 1/4 c. sugar and 1 cup water. The birding experts have told me that the red food coloring is harmful tho them.

    Beautiful, BEAUTIFUL images!!!!
    If you'd like, stop by and add your link to this wonderful post at I'd Rather B Birdin'....the new linking is now open.
    http://id-rather-b-birdin.blogspot.com

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    1. I tried the lower amounts of sugar and they didn't like it. I had to make it super sweet. I don't think the food coloring would be harmful. After all its in the store bought stuff...wouldn't there be a warning?

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  4. Beautiful photos! And I agree with the other comments...1/4 ratio is best. I think they are getting a huge sugar buzz on the 1/2! It might not be good for them. Don't need the dye either....it's artificial and can't be good for them either. Great photos. They are truly wonderful to have around!

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  5. Wonderful photos,miss them in Europe.

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  6. beautiful pictures, how lovely to be able to have hummingbirds so close by #WeekendBlogHop

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  7. Love the quote ~ and I do adore hummingbirds here on the farm
    Always sad to see them leave in September.

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  8. Wow, these are amazing shots, love these :)

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  9. Those in flight shots are awesome. How cool that you have them coming to your feeder. I'm going to get one for sure next year.

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  10. What stunning photos! Thanks for linking up with #WeekendBlogHop!

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