The Ruby-Throated Hummingbird

by Michele Spence

Although it hasn’t felt much like spring the past couple of weeks, one little bird has made their annual spring arrival, the Ruby-throat hummingbird.  They’ve been spotted in Georgia since the beginning of March and their numbers are growing.

Although it hasn’t felt much like spring the past couple of weeks, one little bird has made their annual spring arrival, the Ruby-throat hummingbird.  They’ve been spotted in Georgia since the beginning of March and their numbers are growing.

After overwintering in the Yucatan peninsula, the males arrive first, followed by the females. After making the 1,000 mile journey, they’re pretty hungry, and looking for a place to call home for the next several months.  Setting up a hummingbird feeder in your yard is the first step towards attracting them, but you must be a responsible steward for the hummingbird and clean your feeders and replace the nectar every few days or at a minimum once per week. A hummingbird will not eat from a feeder with spoiled nectar and after a while it will move on.  If the feeder develops black mold, it can make them sick to the point of death.

We sell a number of feeders and nectar and nectar making supplies.  You can make your own nectar by following the 1:4 ratio (1 part white cane sugar to 4 parts water).  I boil mine because it’s easier to get the sugar to dissolve, it will store in the refrigerator for about two weeks. Making your nectar sweeter doesn’t do any good, some scientists say it can lead to permanent liver damage.  When should you put out your feeder?  Now, is a GREAT time!  To help me remember, I always think of April 1 or April Fool’s Day as my trigger date to remember.

Hummingbirds are great additions to your yard, natural insect predators and plant pollinators.  They get their protein from killing insects, minerals from the nectar of flowers and an energy boost from your feeder.  Planting cardinal climber, salvia, lantana, agastache, flowers and flowering shrubs in general will help your home appeal to them.  Avoid using insecticides, let the mighty hummingbird do its job.

Never use soap to clean your feeder, they don’t like the taste.  Instead, use hot tap water and once a month use 1/4 cup of bleach to 1 gallon of water to clean your feeders.

Ruby-throats are very territorial and will fight over a feeder to the point of injury.  Placing a second feeder some distance away, helps alleviate some of the hostility.

Some tidbits about the Ruby-throat hummingbird:

• The males weigh approximately 3 grams and need to consume that much nectar per day, and have the ruby colored patch on their throat
• The females are a bit bigger, weighing in at approximately 3.5 grams and need to consume their weight in nectar as well.  They have no patch on their throats but have white feathers at the tips of their tails
• The females build the nest out of spiderwebs and lichen and pretty much raise the young on their own
• 11.6{0b64e1a5de05231b54e1a4d71adf521101bb9411a7370082016df11622fb6ba9} of Ruby-throats will return to the same feeder the following year
• The oldest Ruby-throat of record was 9 years and 1 month old