Protect your local hummingbirds
As we are in Spring and approaching summer, the temptation to throw out a hummingbird feeder for fun and call it a day is there. Learn about hummingbird feeder safety. Read an excerpt from Almost Daily News:
[box] Hummingbirds are easy to attract to a backyard garden, a cinch to keep well fed, and a joy to watch. These sparkling jewels of summer are easy to love.
But if you don’t take proper care to provide healthy nectar and clean feeders, they’re also an easy bird to love to death. Hummingbird feeders must be kept clean and free from mold and fungus, or the tiny hum-buzzers you so enjoy could develop a serious and deadly fungus infection. This infection causes the tongue to swell, making it impossible for the bird to feed.
Starvation is a slow and painful death.
But, just in case you need more motivation to keep your feeders clean, think of the children. A mother hummingbird can pass a fungal infection to her babies — who will also die of starvation.
Fermented nectar creates liver damage, which will also cause death. When you go on vacation this summer, take down your feeders or leave your feeders in the care of a trusted neighbor.[/box]
Some advice to follow if you are putting out a feeder to attract hummingbirds:
- Only use pure cane sugar in your nectar mixture.
- Mix 1 part sugar to four parts water (bring water to a boil first before mixing). Allow nectar to cool completely before filling feeder.
- Put only as much nectar out as your local birds can consume in two or three days.
- Keep a very close eye on the nectar, it can spoil in as a little as two or three days—even as little as one day in hot weather.
- Read how to clean your feeders properly!
Have fun watching these beautiful creatures, and always keep their best interests in mind!
