Dale Evva Gelfand - Grow a Hummingbird Garden

Dale Evva Gelfand

If asked to name the most ethereal and captivating creature to be found on our planet, most of us would be hard pressed to top the hummingbird. Their minute size (some species weigh only a fraction of an ounce), their beauty (iridescent plumage courtesy of special structures in their feathers), their incredible aerobatic ability (hummingbirds can fly in any direction, including backward), their extraordinary appetites (hummingbirds eat half of their weight in sugar every day), even their aggression (hummingbirds are fierce protectors of their territory and nests) add up to a singularly fascinating family. A little planning of the design of and the plants in your garden is all it takes to make your yard the kind of environment that will readily attract these flying jewels.

A perfect hummingbird habitat is also a relatively simple one: food sources, water for bathing (liquid intake is generally provided by nectar), lookout perches, shade and shelter, and nesting sites and materials. You should be able to provide these requirements in even the smallest of gardens.

Hummingbirds are extremely active creatures with an astonishing metabolic rate that requires high caloric intake of both nectar and insects which means hundreds of food forays during their waking hours, primarily to flowers. Obviously those flowers that produce lots of nectar and also attract tiny insects are more beneficial, and therefore more appealing, to hummingbirds.

This attraction forms part of one of Natures many interdependent relationships: Hummingbirds, while stopping for a meal, act as inadvertent pollinators for the plants they rely upon. Depending on their particular shape, the deep-tubed blossoms that are most suitable to a hummingbirds long tongue deliver pollen from the anthers the male organs onto hummingbirds heads or bills or chins, and when the nectar-sipping visitors go on to probe neighboring blossoms of the same variety, that pollen is delivered to the stigmas the female organs for fertilization. In fact, hummingbirds are some of the most essential bird pollinators for flora in North America.

Equally as important as the nectar that the flowers provide are the tiny insects living within them. Insects are an indispensable source of protein in the hummingbird diet and, like the hummingbirds that prey upon them, insects are attracted to the nectar. When hummingbirds arent catching them on the wing (or, in the case of small spiders, snaring them in their own webs), they find them inside flowers. Happily for gardeners and other outdoors lovers, these insects include many garden pests such as aphids and gnats.

Like all birds, hummingbirds need to bathe, and they are resourceful in employing water sources that match their tiny size such as beads of water left on leaves after a rain or the fine spray from a waterfall. Hummingbirds prefer moving water, and are fond of flying through the spray of lawn sprinklers. If you want to set up a sprinkler for a hummingbird bath, use a nozzle that gives off a continuous fine spray. In a pinch, hummingbirds will also use birdbaths, provided theyre shallow enough for hummingbirds to stand in. Adding various-size rocks to a birdbath creates different depths for different-size bird species. Hummingbirds prefer not to come to ground for their water, so if you can help them avoid this, they may well use your accommodations.

Having a place from where they can survey their territory is essential to hummingbirds. (For creatures so tiny to be so protective of their domain may seem peculiar, but considering how important ample food sources are to hummingbirds survival, the ability to oversee their territory and quickly defend it from intruders is crucial.) Hummingbirds prefer a perch that directly overlooks the flowers on which they feed. The male partner of one ruby-throated hummingbird couple that takes up residence in my garden every summer prefers the slender bottom branch of an enormous hemlock tree that anchors the shady end of my garden. From there its but a short flight to all of the flowers and to the nearer of the two hummingbird feeders, as well. Its likely that his mate also perches on the hemlock, but I havent seen her there, as females generally prefer to remain sheltered within the interior of a tree, shrub, or vine.

Although we think of hummingbirds as being constantly on the wing, in fact they spend about equal amounts of time locating food and resting between meals. Males will rest anywhere from exposed branches to clotheslines to TV antennae, but females and immature birds seek the shade and protection of foliage. Dense foliage for shelter from the elements evergreens are excellent windbreaks and for roosting at night is also important to these tiny birds. The ideal balance for a hummingbird habitat is about one-half full sun and one-quarter each shade and partial shade.

Its doubtful that youll ever see a hummingbird nest or if you do see one, you may not realize what it is. These tiny, usually lichen-covered structures are only 1 to 1 inches (24cm) in diameter, and are so effectively camouflaged that you would assume theyre but a knot on a branch. Hummingbirds nest in both deciduous and evergreen trees, anywhere from 4 to 50 feet (1.215m) up but most frequently in the 10- to 20-foot-high (36m) range, often bordering or over a stream. Although there are no guarantees in tempting a hummingbird pair to set up housekeeping in your yard, by planting both food sources and those trees and shrubs that provide nesting materials, youll make it more appealing for them to do so. Primary among the latter is downy plant material, which makes up the bulk of hummingbird nests. An excellent and favored source of downy fibers are the filaments of willow seeds; additionally, willow flowers provide both nectar and the insects attracted to it. Consider planting shrub willow in your garden if your yard has a favorable site for this moisture-loving tree. Other trees that provide nesting material for hummingbirds include cottonwoods, aspens, and sycamores.

The exterior of the nest is often covered with lichens.

The interior of the next is packed with downy plant material.

Hummingbirds are strictly a New World phenomenon, of Central American origin. North America is home to eight common species of hummingbirds and several more rare species. Hummingbirds follow a migratory pattern and are seen in the United States mainly during the summer months, although several species are known to take up permanent residence in coastal California, coastal Oregon, southern Arizona, and southern Florida. In some areas of the country, the ranges of certain species may overlap, although if you live anywhere east of the Mississippi, identification is usually easy: The ruby-throated hummingbird is the only regular visitor to that area.

A QUICK GEOGRAPHICAL STUDY

Eastern and Midwestern Hummingbirds

Ruby-throated

Southeastern and Gulf Coast Hummingbirds