Hummingbird Attraction & Photographing with Natural Light - includes related article on favored food of hummingbirds

PSA Journal, April, 1999 by Roger Erich Schuettke

Photographing hummingbirds can be interesting, fun, amusing, challenging, educational and even therapeutic. But first, one must locate or attract these whirring little jewels of the bird world. If you are fortunate enough to hear or see a hummingbird while on an outing, look along stream banks for their tiny little nests which are often given away by the female's trying to lure you away from the vicinity with flying acrobatics. Nests are usually about one and one half inches in diameter and very effectively camouflaged.

Luring hummingbirds into your yard is accomplished by one of three methods: 1. Planting flowers and or shrubs near a source of water; 2. Supplying artificial feeders with a sugar water solution which imitates nectar; 3. A combination of the above--considered the best method for both photographing and viewing the birds.

Only 23 of the 338 known species of hummingbirds have been sighted north of the USA southern border and only 16 species are known to nest north of Mexico. Most of the different North American hummingbird species are found in the Southwest. In the Pacific Northwest one can occasionally spy the Rufous, Annas and along the Cascade Mountain slopes, the Calliope. Canada is visited by four species of hummingbirds while the Ruby Throated is the only species indigenous to Eastern North America and Canada.

The male hummingbird is usually recognizable by its bright neck feathers which form a protective grouping called a "gorget." The gorget appears black when away from light. Females do not have a gorget; they do often have bright colored feathers on their mostly white throats. Females are identified by their emerald green backs on many species.

While a Hummingbird may weigh scarcely more than a dime, its tiny 3 1/2 inch long or smaller body consumes more energy for its weight than any other bird. Hummingbirds satisfy their high energy needs by consuming up to eight times their body weight in liquid and half their body weight in insects and spiders daily.

For drinking and eating, a hummingbird's tongue is truly indispensable. The tongue can be extended about three quarters the bill length beyond the tip of the bill to catch small flying insects and is forked at the tip to aid in extracting insects and licking nectar from tube-shaped flowers.

The hummingbird is the only bird which can fly upside-down and backwards; they have almost unbelievable hovering abilities and can fly straight up as well as straight down.

Red, orange, pink and yellow seem to be the colors that are most attracting to hummingbirds, although they will investigate any and all flowers as well as shrubs and trees in their hunt for food. Trumpet-shaped flowers seem to be their favorite source for nectar, the brighter reds are best. They prefer wildflowers because wildflowers contain more nectar than domestic or hybrid flowers.

Plant perennial flowers, hardy bushes, vines and trees to obtain a relatively permanent hummingbird garden. It's best to select plants that grow in excess of two feet in height. Hummers like some hanging plants also. Select plants that bloom at different times throughout the season to give the hummers a continual source of food. A listing of some of the more popular plants to attract hummingbirds is provided at the end of this article. Your local nursery can help in locating plants.

Hummingbirds need a constant supply of water. A drippy hose works well. All birds seem to prefer a water drip which falls far enough to give a little splash and which creates a little mud. Hummers will also visit your winter ash dump to use the pozzalan along with the spider web when building their nests.

Place your feeders in places where you can observe the action and where they can easily be retrieved for cleaning and refilling. Feeders must be maintained regularly.

It is preferable to hang your feeder under the protection of the eaves; barfing that, you can make an umbrella-like cover from a plastic container or coffee can to keep the rain from diluting the solution. Hanging the feeder in a shady area will help keep the solution cool and reduce mold growth. Place your feeders at adjacent or opposite quarters of your house, since hummers are territorial and will fight over food sources. If you can plant flowers near the feeder, the birds will stay closer and will get protein and natural nectar for a balanced diet.

Fill your feeder with a mixture of one part cane sugar to four parts boiled water. Never use any substitute for the natural white sugar--you could make the hummingbird fearfully sick. Boiling the water removes chlorine and retards deadly mold growth.

Do not use solutions stronger than four parts boiled water to one part natural white sugar. Heavier concentrations can cause liver damage. Sugar amounts may be reduced to as low as one part sugar to eight parts water.

Should ants, bees or insects be attracted to your feeder, put petroleum jelly on the hanger wire and around the feeder openings. Do not use insect sprays around your feeder. You can use a fine mist spray of water to discourage bees and wasps for a while; the hummers will enjoy it, and it will give them a chance to feed.