Photo Courtesy of E. Wehger, Slater Sanctuary

This month we welcomed Sally Brockett, President of the Daytime Gardeners of North Haven, who presented “Hummingbirds: Jeweled Acrobats in the Garden.”

Sally gave an interesting presentation about Hummingbirds, we learned many interesting facts  about these “Jeweled Acrobats.”

The Ruby-throated Hummingbird is eastern North America’s sole breeding hummingbird.  Feeders and flower gardens are great ways to attract these birds.  By early fall they’re bound for Central America, with many crossing the Gulf of Mexico in a single flight.

Their lifespan is 3 to 5 years, their heart beats 1.260 beats per minute, their wings beat about 53 times a second.

Hummingbird nests are built entirely by the female bird. After mating, male Hummingbirds do not have any part in choosing nesting sites, gathering nesting materials, or raising chicks. The female, however, will spend several hours a day for five to seven days collecting materials to build her nest.

Hummingbirds build velvety, compact cups with spongy floors and elastic sides that stretch as the young grow.  They weave together twigs, plant fibers, soft moss, and lint and use spider silk as threads to bind their nests together and to anchor them to the foundation.

A simple recipe for Hummingbird food is 1 cup of cane sugar mixed with 4 cups of hot/boiling water.  It is important to remember that you only use cane sugar since other sugars are not safe for Hummingbirds.  Change the water before it grows cloudy or discolored and remember that during hot weather, sugar water ferments rapidly to produce toxic alcohol.