Female Ruby Throated Hummingbird
I love hummingbirds. They visit Houston in late summer/early fall along their annual migration south. Some stay over for several weeks building up reserves before crossing the Gulf of Mexico (600 miles!). Every year I put up several feeders beginning in late July to encourage the little travelers to stop in my yard. My whole family gets so much entertainment and pleasure watching their antics as they swarm our feeders, and all for the tiny cost of a few cups of sugar. Dr. Wife and I also try to get good photographs of them, but it's pretty difficult. Boy #1 loves to sit out on the porch and watch them while eating popsicles.
I've tried several types of hummingbird feeders, but in my yard they seem to prefer the Perky Pet Four Fountains feeder (seen in video below) more than any other. I think this is because it very closely resembles the Trumpet vine, a native source of nectar. The recipe for nectar is really simple: 1 part sugar to 4 parts water. No red dye is required, and some research suggests that the red dye might actually be harmful to birds. Change out the nectar every couple of days, and you should have swarms of hummingbirds too. As long as there is red on the feeder, they'll find it.
On Saturday, the whole family went to the Gulf Coast Bird Observatory (GCBO) annual Xtreme Hummingbird Xtravaganza in Lake Jackson, Texas. There were hummingbird feeding stations, opportunities to photograph hummers, and even alligators, snakes, and turtles for the children to see. GCBO staff were capturing hummingbirds by placing feeders in a 3-sided cage. After capture, the birds were carefully placed in mesh bags until they could be measured, weighed, and banded. One volunteer told me that the previous week they had banded 52 new birds, and had approximately 30 recaptures.
The GCBO staff and volunteers were all very friendly, helpful, and informative, with one exception. Dr. Wife was holding Boy #1 up to see a hummingbird being banded. She said to my son, "See? He's putting a band on the hummingbird's leg, like a little bracelet." The man banding the birds looked up and said, "It's not a bracelet, it's a band." Dr. Wife said she knows that, and was just trying to explain it to our 2 1/2-year-old in a way he would understand. The bird-bander then obnoxiously said, "Well maybe you should try teaching him the correct name for it." Dr. Wife was speechless she was so mad. I was elsewhere watching Boy #2, but if I had heard it I would have said something. If any GCBO members read this, please let that guy know that his attitude was not appreciated.
I've tried several types of hummingbird feeders, but in my yard they seem to prefer the Perky Pet Four Fountains feeder (seen in video below) more than any other. I think this is because it very closely resembles the Trumpet vine, a native source of nectar. The recipe for nectar is really simple: 1 part sugar to 4 parts water. No red dye is required, and some research suggests that the red dye might actually be harmful to birds. Change out the nectar every couple of days, and you should have swarms of hummingbirds too. As long as there is red on the feeder, they'll find it.
On Saturday, the whole family went to the Gulf Coast Bird Observatory (GCBO) annual Xtreme Hummingbird Xtravaganza in Lake Jackson, Texas. There were hummingbird feeding stations, opportunities to photograph hummers, and even alligators, snakes, and turtles for the children to see. GCBO staff were capturing hummingbirds by placing feeders in a 3-sided cage. After capture, the birds were carefully placed in mesh bags until they could be measured, weighed, and banded. One volunteer told me that the previous week they had banded 52 new birds, and had approximately 30 recaptures.
The GCBO staff and volunteers were all very friendly, helpful, and informative, with one exception. Dr. Wife was holding Boy #1 up to see a hummingbird being banded. She said to my son, "See? He's putting a band on the hummingbird's leg, like a little bracelet." The man banding the birds looked up and said, "It's not a bracelet, it's a band." Dr. Wife said she knows that, and was just trying to explain it to our 2 1/2-year-old in a way he would understand. The bird-bander then obnoxiously said, "Well maybe you should try teaching him the correct name for it." Dr. Wife was speechless she was so mad. I was elsewhere watching Boy #2, but if I had heard it I would have said something. If any GCBO members read this, please let that guy know that his attitude was not appreciated.
3-Sided cage to capture hummingbirds.
Captured hummingbirds waiting to be banded.
Measuring, weighing, and banding hummingbirds.
Boy #1 and Dr. Wife meeting an alligator.
Boy #1 and native Texas box turtles.
