A Love Affair With Hummingbirds

Hummingbird darts lightly through the world, spreading its message of joy and beauty, and teaching us to appreciate the wonder and magic of everyday existence. Hummingbird brings the gift of joy. Learn to laugh and be happy.

If you know me or visit my home, you know I love hummingbirds.  Not only do I have many feeders spread throughout our city lot, but my flower bed plantings were designed to attract the fascinating little fliers. Inside, many of my cross-stitched pieces are of hummingbirds. To relax at night I will often head to the backyard (usually with a glass of wine!) to sit and watch the birds flit around. They can be quite aggressive and territorial, actually can be quite loud.  It's really cheap and relaxing entertainment!

My sister took the pictures shown in this post (she is so talented), they inspired me to share my love of the tiny jeweled-birds.

Some interesting facts about hummingbirds:

A hummingbird's tongue is grooved to better capture the nectar from flowers
They take 150 breaths per minute
Hummingbird eggs are about the size of a jellybean
Hummingbirds beat their wings up to 50 times per second, explaining the humming sound they make
Hummingbirds can fly backwards
Besides feeding on nectar and sugar water, they eat a lot of insects and spiders, too

If you know anything about hummingbirds, it's probably the fact that they can't resist red. But red isn't the only color that attracts them. They are attracted to any nectar-rich flower, usually flowers that have tubular openings such as honeysuckles, trumpet vine, fuchsia and bee balm, to name a few. I have a large lantana bush and the hummingbirds are always zipping around it.

If you want the birds without the gardening, or in addition to, a hummingbird feeder is an easy option.  The sugar water is easy to make, use 4 parts water to 1 part sugar, and bring to a full boil to break down the sugar completely.  Once it's cool, refrigerate the unused portion.  There is no need to color the water with red dye, it's really not good for the birds and the coloring on the feeder will be enough to attract them. 

They love water, too.  My Hubby and I have spent many a moment watching the little birds frolic in our water fountains.

In our mild California climate we have hummingbirds all year long.  It's very enchanting to look out on a grey or rainy day and see a little bird sitting at the feeder. Mother Nature never ceases to thrill and amaze me!