Lovely hummingbirds
you have been absent today
and I wonder why
Cori MacNaughton
I should have brought out fresh hummingbird nectar a couple of days ago, but because of the press of other things, I neglected to do so. And, despite that, I saw numerous hummingbirds . . . up until today.
Today (well, early afternoon of now-yesterday), I made new hummingbird nectar, filled three feeders, and set them outside. And, despite that, I saw no hummingbirds.
I have little doubt that they will return, as we've been feeding them here for six years, but it does underscore the need to be consistent, to give them quality nectar.
And by that, I mean not the commercial crap with red food dye, which no hummingbird needs or wants, but real nectar, made from organic cane sugar.
My grandmother always made the nectar she used to feed her local hummingbirds; first in Gallup, New Mexico, and then later in Cedar Crest, half an hour and a couple of thousand feet above Albuquerque. And in New Mexico, her hummingbirds included several species, each of which she knew and loved.
In Tennessee, we have the same species we had in Florida, the ruby-throated hummingbird, which ironically, though I had a lot of hummingbird-friendly flowering plants and trees there, I never once saw them visited by hummingbirds.
In Tennessee, however, we see them frequently, they are used to being fed, and if I am tardy in refreshing their nectar, they think nothing of hovering in front of my face to remind me of my neglect.
Hummingbirds have a loud buzz, like a bumblebee, but they also have a lovely little chirping chatter, that I love to listen to while they dart about their business.
Making hummingbird nectar is the definition of easy. For each feeder, bring a cup to a cup and a quarter of fresh, pure water, preferably filtered and without chlorine and fluoride, to a boil.
Add a third of a cup of organic cane sugar, stir to dissolve, and return briefly to a boil, then turn off and allow to cool.
Once cooled, fill the feeder, hang outside for the hummingbirds, and giving them a bit of time to find their new bounty, enjoy the show. If you haven't fed them before, it may take them a day or two to find the feeders, or you may get lucky.
Please choose feeders that have slits for access, rather than round holes, as the round holes will invite bees and wasps to climb inside and drown, which spoils the nectar for the hummingbirds and kills the bees and wasps.
Unnecessary and harmful. Best to think first and get better feeders, that will allow lovely interaction with the hummingbirds, while not harming other wildlife.
I am always concerned when I see an absence of our usual wildlife, whether hummingbirds, fireflies or something else, because I am concerned that the authorities, under the guise of "doing what's best," may have started yet another ill-advised spraying program. Hopefully not in this case.
And I would love to hear your take in the comments.
Nashville at Nighttime - Day 125 - Daily Haiku
Comic recordings - Day 124 - Daily Haiku - More Comic Genius
Music is My Joy - Day 123 - Daily Haiku - and a Tribute to Tom Lehrer's Comic Genius
Fireflies Are Active - Day 122 - Daily Haiku
A Date with Marek - Day 121 - Daily Haiku
For the Alliance - Day 120 - Daily Haiku - My Application to join The Alliance
Speaking Words of Love - Day 119 - Daily Haiku
Speaking My Own Truth - Day 118 - Daily Haiku - and some Questions for Empaths and Lightworkers
Buddies to the end - Our cat Miod and our dog Lolo - Daily Pet Photography
Loveliest Flower - Day 117 - Daily Haiku
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All words and images are my own.
The photo of the hummingbirds at their feeder I took just under a year after we moved here, in September of 2012, most likely with my Canon SX 30 iS camera.
The photo of our dog, Lolo, and our late cat, Miod, I took as they were cooperatively begging at the dinner table, despite our longstanding rule of not feeding them from the table. You can see how much that deterred them both.
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