Fat Hummingbirds

Now that I got your attention with that title, its time to pay attention to how we can help fatten the hummingbirds for the long migration. If you're thinking it's a little late, it isn't. During the Spring and Summer they have an abundance of flowers to feed from but during the Fall is when they really need our help to gain weight in order to make that long, ardouse, and sometimes dangerous journey to Central America. To survive the journey, hummers go on an eating binge and store the extra food as fat and may double their weight before setting out. Nearly all the hummingbirds found in the US and Canada are seasonal migrants. Breeding and nesting up north but spending their Winter in the tropics of Central America. Twice a year they make a journey that is truly epic. Given their body length, hummingbird migrations are the longest of any bird. The journey includes a marathon flight across the Gulf of Mexico. An 18 hour ordeal, over 500 miles with no place to stop and nowhere to feed until they reach land. They can live as long as 12 years, and once they know where to feed will come back year after year returning to the very same gardens and breeding ground.

Here is a standard syrup recipe for your feeders: Make a sugar syrup out of 2 cups water and 1 cup sugar and boil until all sugar granules are dissolved. Turn down the heat and keep boiling for another 5 minutes covered. Let cool and add 2 more cups of water. Add the syrup about halfway in your feeder until the hummers have found it. Keep feeders clean and always make sure the solution is kept fresh.