Luring Beautiful Birds With A Hand Blown Glass Hummingbird Feeder

There are many ways to lure wild life to your home’s yard and garden.  One of the best ways is to hang or display some type of feeder such as a hand blown glass hummingbird feeder.  Putting up one of these lovely hummingbird feeders will help bring in an abundance of these wonderful little birds.  Hummingbirds are considered to be one of nature’s powerhouses. 

The largest hummingbird, the Giant Hummingbird beats its wings between 10 and 15 beats per second, while the tiny hummingbird, the Amethyst Woodstar averages up to 87 beats per second.  A hummingbird’s heart is also a pretty incredible machine, beating more than 1260 beats per minute.  While tiny, these little birds are one of nature’s true treasures. 

Hummingbirds come in an almost infinite range of colors.  They almost always have iridescent, almost brilliant coloring, with the males being the more spectacular of the species.  These colors in the hummingbird plumage are caused when light is refracted by the bird’s feathers.  Just like light refracting through a drop of water will make a rainbow, a hummingbird’s feather structure can break or refract light into many different colors.  The color and its brilliance are determined by the distance between the ridges on the feather’s structure.  A hummingbird’s color is typically much more brilliant than other birds who have color-pigmented feathers. 

There are a few hummingbirds who have pigmented feathers, including the Rufous and Allen’s hummingbirds.  A hummingbird’s color is iridescent when there is both pigment and color refraction blending the colors of both light and pigment. 

Hummingbirds can travel incredible distances.  Most Ruby-throated hummingbirds fly from one side of the Gulf of Mexico to the other non-stop.  To lure these incredible little creatures to your hand blown glass hummingbird feeder, you need to keep the feeder clean and the syrup fresh.  Hummingbirds begin to migrate in the spring, just as the weather begins to warm.  Depending upon where you are located, you may see hummingbirds as early as March, although most do not make an appearance until May.  Be aware, however that sometime in May all of your hummingbirds may seem to disappear.  This is because it is nesting season and hummingbirds have a preferred type of nesting location.  It does not really matter if this location is close to a feeder or not.  Hummingbirds nest where they prefer and since your feeder may be part of a male’s territory, chances are it will not be near your feeder.  Once the chicks hatch, the mothers will catch spiders and small insects since the young hatchlings need protein.  

Once the hatchlings leave the nest, your numbers may double, especially since natural food sources decrease during the summer.  Your hand blown glass hummingbird feeder may mean the difference between life and death for these young hummingbirds, especially if it is a dry, hot summer.  It is important to keep the feeders clean and fresh.  You may see your numbers decline beginning in late summer as the hummingbirds begin their migration south.  Keep your hummingbird feeder up for a week or two after you think you have seen the last hummingbird.  There may be a straggler who is migrating late and who will be most grateful for a food source as they wing their way south.