Birdfeeders

Most of us are familiar with hummingbird feeders, but many people do not know that there are 1600 species of birds who eat nectar. That is almost 20 per cent of all birds. In North America, there are 53 species that will be attracted to a sugar water solution. These include hummingbirds, orioles, tanagers, grosbeaks, sapsuckers and some warblers. While these birds all eat naturally available foods such as insects grains, and weed seeds, they love the quick energy they get from our hummingbird feeders and oriole feeders. There is often discussion about whether or not to leave hummingbird feeders up year around. Some people fear that the hummers will not migrate as they should if the feeders remain available. This is simply not true. Since hummingbird feeders do not provide their main food source, but just extra energy, leave up those hummingbird feeders as long as they are being used. In our area, there are a few stragglers around the feeder most of the winter.