FEEDING HUMMINGBIRDS

Dear BirdGal, When should I put out my hummingbird feeder? PD
Dear PD, Ruby-throated hummingbirds, the only species found east of the Mississippi, usually return to the Cincinnati Tri-State area the last week of April or the first week of May. Check out the hummingbird migration website if you want to track their movement north. BG

Dear BirdGal, What is the "recipe" for hummingbird nectar? MP
Dear MP, Mix 4 parts water with 1 part table sugar. Boil the water to retard fermentation and please do not add food coloring! The red color of the feeder will attract the hummers and the food dye may be harmful. Store extra nectar in your refrigerator. Change the nectar every few days. It will ferment quickly in warm weather. BG

Dear BirdGal, When should I take down the hummingbird feeder?
Dear Readers, This is a question we hear very often at this time of year. The simple answer is that you don’t take it down until the hummingbirds have all migrated! Many of you have been told in the past that if you don’t take the feeder down, the hummingbirds won’t leave. Believe me, that is an old wives’ tale! Hummingbirds, like all migratory birds, instinctively know when to return to their wintering grounds. No amount of hummingbird feeders is going to prevent their migration. Now, there have been documented cases where a hummingbird will get stranded. I read one account about a ruby-throat that was harbored in a lady’s sunroom all winter after getting “lost” during its migratory trip south. But these are rare occurrences indeed! Your feeders are stop-over spots for the birds migrating from further north. During migration, hummingbirds are building up fat reserves to help them make that last push across the Gulf of Mexico. It’s about a 500-600 mile flight and the little guys do it non-stop. It takes them about 20 hours!My suggestion is that you leave your hummer feeders up until 1-2 weeks have gone by during which time you have seen no hummingbirds. This could be as late as mid-October here in the Cincinnati Tri-State area. It would not hurt to leave the feeder out until November 1st. This will ensure that all the ruby-throats migrating from North America have the energy required to get to their wintering grounds in Mexico and Central America. We want them healthy so they can turn around and return to our feeders next Spring! BG