Newspaper Page Text
June 22, 2011
Monroe County Outdoors
How to attract
hummingbirds
.•Reporter
PAGE 3B
w
T ▼ n;
/BesfN
vsoii;
BY TERRY W. JOHNSON
ith the beginning of the summer hummingbird feeding
frenzy just around the corner, it is important to know
whether or not we are feed-
ing this tiny feathered dy
namos the correct food when
they come to drink at our backyard feeders.
The practice of feeding hummingbirds
has been going on for about a century. A
lady by the name of Caroline Soule is
credited with being the first person to
develop an artificial feeder. Her feeder
proved to be simple but effective. It con
sisted of nothing more than artificial
trumpet creeper flower stuffed into the
opening of a bottle containing sugar
water. When she placed the crude feeder
near flowers in her Brookline, Mass, gar
den, the hummingbirds quickly fed at it
as if was a nectar-laden flower. As far as
I know, the ratio of sugar to water in the
first batch of manmade nectar was never
recorded.
In the years since, countless humming
bird solutions
have been tried.
One of the first
was honey. Honey
sounded like the
perfect humming
bird food.
However, those
that fed the sticky
food to the birds
soon discovered
this was a bad
mistake.
Hummingbirds
using this natu
ral sweetner soon began getting sick or
dying.
Researchers discovered that sugars
found in honey are quite different from
those found in the nectar of flowers.
Honey contains dextrose while the sugars
in flower nectar contain a sucrose-fructose
compound. If that wasn’t enough, honey-
water mixtures quickly become contami
nated with bacteria and fungi, which, in
turn, in turn produce chemicals harmful
to hummingbirds. Consequently, NEVER
feed honey solutions to hummers.
After much trial an error, it was deter
mined that the very best food that you
should offer hummingbirds is a mixture of
4 parts water to 1 part sugar. If you
make your own hummingbird food, bring
the water to a boil and then add the
sugar. Boiling the mixture for 2-3 minutes
kills most of the bacteria and fungi that
might be present in the mixture. Allow
the solution to cool before placing it in a
feeder. Store the remainder in the refrig
erator.
If you feed hummingbirds a homemade
nectar solution, it is always a good idea to
feed it after it has been boiled. The only
exception to this rule is if the humming
birds using your feeders eat all of the food
you put out for them in a single day. This
is because it won’t spoil before the birds
eat it. If you decide to prepare a bath of
unboiled hummingbird nectar, you might
want to use finely ground sugar, you will
find that the sugar dissolves much more
rapidly in cold water than granular sugar.
There are a number of excellent com
mercially available hummingbird feeding
mixtures on the market. Some are said to
contain important mineral and protein
supplements. While they probably benefit
the birds, usually hummingbirds obtain
all of the minerals and proteins they
needs by feeding on flower nectar and
tiny insects.
I am often asked whether or not there is
any value to adding red food coloring to
hummingbird nectar. Some say that red
nectar attracts hummingbirds. They are
drawn to feeders by the red artificial flow
ers that adorn them. From my way of
thinking, since the hummingbirds don’t
receive any real benefits from this food
additive, why use it?
One of the most bizarre food additives
used by hummingbird fanciers that I
know about was used by Monroe County
lady who boasted of attracting more hum
mingbirds than anyone in her neighbor
hood. She claimed that the birds flocked
to her feeders because she added a secret
ingredient to her hummingbird food -
gin. I can’t help but wonder how many
tipsy hummingbird flew into her windows
after imbibing that concoction! Needless
to say, I don’t recommend this practice.
In another instance I heard of a man
filling his hummingbird feeder with Kool
Aid. I’m sure that nobody determined
what effect this popular drink has on
hummingbirds. However, why feed the
birds fluid full of additives that the birds
don’t need? I give a thumbs down to this
also.
The bottom line is that if you stick with
a good quality commercial hummingbird
feeding mixture or one that you make
yourself, using four parts water to one
part sugar, you should do just fine. It’s as
simple as that.
Email Terry Johnson at
TJWoodDuck@aol. com
Johnson honored for writing excellence
A female humming drinking nectar.
Monroe County Outdoors
columnist Terry Johnson
received two Excellence in Craft
awards this year from the the
Georgia Outdoor Writers
Association at their annual
meeting in Savannah.
Johnson, who lives in Forsyth,
took home second place in the
Weekly Newspaper category for
a piece entitled “Jitterbugging
the night away” that appeared
in the Reporter.
Johnson also won a second
place in the Electronic Media
Category for a column called
“Rediscover a Valuable Food
Plant - The Mulberry”.
At Youmans ‘til Sat., July 5, 6pm
nnm
Gasoline Self Serve
Low-cost gas
Gas $ .99/ga lion
based on 15,000 miles per vear in a 30 MPG vehicleffor3 mos. Offer may change
Regular
Supreme
i per year in a 30 MFC vemcie, for 3 mos. Offer may change
for vehicles with different ratings. Not compatible with other offers
99%
99%
99%
99%
cost financing.
apr Financing
Available on Malibu, Impala LS, HHR LS, Avalanche, Silverados. Example: $24,000. $400/mo. for 60 months at 0%
O APR financing.
payments far 90 days
Register at Youmans to
WIN FOUR TICKETS TO
on all new models.
Malibu
up to 3GmPG
$ 14,638 $ 18,455
an imax® 3d Experience
on Wed. June 29 th at the new
Grand imax
AMSTAR - MACON 16
5996 ZEBULON RD., MACON, GA 31210
REGISTER AT YOUMANS THRU NOON, JUNE 28™
T WO Family Four Packs of tickets will be awarded
by random drawing on June 28th at Youmans
Chevrolet. Winners will be notified by phone or email.
No purchase necessary. For tickets and showtimes:
THEGRANDTHEATRE/IMAX® | 888.94FILMS.
IMAX® is a registered trademark of the IMAX® Corporation.
Equinox
opto 38 UFO
Imnala
Camaro
*22,199
0,450 *22,799
1 2-Month, 12,000 IN/lile Bumper-To-Bumper Warranty on top of any GIVI warranty.
CARS
‘08 Milan Premier Merc roof 108636Q$11980
‘10 Cobalt LT Chev 108663P $12,900
‘10 CObalt LT Chev 108694P $14900
‘07 Camry LE Toyota 104561 A.... *12400
‘05 Sierra SLE XCab GMC 100626A.. *13400
‘08 Impala Chev 100580a *12400
10 Impala LT Chev 108657P.... $14*900
10 Impala LT Chev 4 at $15$00
10 Impala LS Chev 108700P... *15400
10 Impala LT Chevi08650P.... *10450
10 Impala LT Chev 27K 108644P.. *10400
‘00 Malibu LT Chev 129664A.... *14450
10 Malibu LT Chev 33K 108667P.. *15400
10 Malibu LT che»,08695P *15000
10 Malibu lt chev 108693R *17000
10 Malibu LT Chev 108697P.... *17400
10 Wagon T&C Touring Chr 108686P$18,900
TRUCKS
10 Silverado LTCrew V8108654P.... *21400
10 Silverado LT Crew 108691P.. *21400
10 Silverado LT CrewCab 108688P. *22400
‘07 Avalanche LT loaded 108699P.. *22400
‘08 Avalanchecr Med 108395P. *23400
UNDER *10,000
‘01 Taurus SES Ford 111527A *5050
‘03 Saturn ion 3 131545B *0450
‘01 Volvo V70 108701Q $6950
‘02 Ford CrownVic LX 100629A $7950
‘04 PaSSat VW GLS leather 108676Q... $7950
‘03 Highlander Toyota $7950
‘06 500 SE Ford 134527A *7000
‘04 ITallBlazer Chev 111512A.... *0450
‘04 Explorer SUV EBauer Ford 108605Q *0A50
*06 HHR LS Chev 134536A $9980
‘05 Ford Freestyle Wagon awd 129584B.. $9980
SUVs
‘03 Expedition EBauer Ford 132523B *10400
‘04 Suburban LT Chev 132521 a.. *11400
‘05 Suburban Chev 108680Q.... *11400
‘08 ITailBlazer loaded 108661P.. *15400
10 HHR LT Chev 108702P $15,900
10 Equinox LT Chev 108690P.. *22400
‘07 Tahoe LT 4WD leather 129104A.... *10400
‘07 Tahoe LT Chev 108685P.... *23400
‘08 TahOe LT Chev loaded 105541 A.$26,900
‘09 Tahoe LT Chev 108681 p.... *27400
10 Tahoe LT Chev 108698P *20400
For 80 years,
Middle Georgia’s
Chevy Store
George Youmans. , L ■'
The name you know. * - '
The man you trust.
P
2020 Riverside Drive (Riverside at Ingleside) Macon 478-74 6-2020
ymj jg g% See our complete inventory of new and used at
478- i4D b aUaU www.youmanscnevrolet.com