Hummingbird First-Aid

 Hello all,
   Hope you've had a wonderful summer with family and friends.We enjoyed time with loved ones. Summer is a great time to share favorite places, ice cream and smiles :) We also spend a bit of our summer days tending to our little guest (the hummingbirds)so it was sad to find a sick hummingbird today. Now,we don't know a lot about "Hummingbird First- Aid" so I needed to read up on it . This is what I found ...

 The first(4) four to (24) twenty-four hours are critical to an injured hummingbird.
 
Always keep in mind that there are very stiff laws in North America about holding a hummingbird in captivity.

 If you have a lot of hummingbirds around, eventually you will need a hummingbird first aid kit.

That being said,if you find a sick hummingbird,check and see if the hummingbird is still alive. This is  difficult since a hummingbird can enter a sort of hibernation state call torpor . It may take as long as twenty to thirty minutes of watching (and keeping warm) to know for sure. Just be sure to keep the bird warm.

 You can make a First-Aid Kit and here's what you will need:

1. The phone number of the closest local wildlife rehabilitator or veterinarian .

2. A small box with crumpled tissue paper inside and a lid with holes on top.   Remember the size of a hummingbird and choose a box that is not too big, or too small

 3. An eye dropper or syringe to give the hummingbird a little nectar.

Here is our hummingbird food recipe:
1 part cane sugar/4 parts water.Measure and add sugar, at the rate of 1/4 cup of sugar to 1 cup of water.Let cool and store excess in refrigerator until ready to use.

 We warmed her for about 20 mins and she recovered .                            

Southward Migration..Fly on winged dancers

Summer is coming to an end here...and soon ,too soon ,I'll have to say farewell those tiny winged dancers. The ones that zoom about my head each morning while I sip my hot coffee.I feel sad to see them go,but go they must...On to their southward migration.They stay most of the summer here, raiding the two large feeders,which we fill daily...Yes , I'll miss them all....If fate is good , I'll see them next year with new stories of winter to share...So fly on winged dancers! Take my love home.
If you love hummingbirds, see the vintage print hummingbird tote at my design shop

Return of the Hummers

I love hummingbirds,We are happy to see them return this Spring.

For our hummingbird food recipe,We use our tap water which is supplied from our well.
In the city,you'll have chlorine or fluoride added to your water.Boil the water to flash off the chlorine or fluoride,5 minutes of boiling should be sufficient.

We never add RED COLORING….Our hummingbird feeder is red.Anyway..naturally occurring nectar is clear and odorless.

Here is our hummingbird food recipe:

1 part cane sugar/4 parts water.Measure and add sugar, at the rate of 1/4 cup of sugar to 1 cup of water.Let cool and store excess in refrigerator until ready to use.

You will need to clean your feeder every few days,with hot water and a mild (10%) bleach solution to inhibit bacteria/mold. Rinse thoroughly before refilling with water syrup.See Migration Map for 2009 http://www.hummingbirds.net/map.html

Wildflowers

Columbine



My woodland garden is getting a lot larger and the cost wasn't very much.I decided on a style that would look nice in a woodland setting.Found a good book about wildflowers in Wisconsin(Wildflowers of Wisconsin by Stan Tekiela)I was able to identify lots of native plants and include them in the garden as well.

I found Columbine(which isn't native)Thanks to the birds,it's growing right outside our door.Columbine is an easy to grow perennial.Hummingbird love it,It's a favorite of hummingbirds and bees because the flowers contain lots of nectar.