A guide to feeding hummingbirds

This is the season to be feeding hummingbirds. From now until mid-September the adult hummingbirds and their young will be moving south. Those from southeast Canada and northeast Maine will be moving through the Bangor area. That’s a lot of hummingbirds.

At this time, I put out three to five feeders in my yard and at the Fields Pond Audubon Center, because it’s so much fun to watch them as they squabble and buzz around. I space the feeders at least 25 feet apart to minimize their squabbling.

The hummingbirds need fuel on their journey across the Caribbean Ocean to Central America. Some people think that it’s terrible to feed them sugar water. Well, they don’t have teeth to rot, and they need the calories. They always feed at flowers, too, and snap up tiny insects for other nutrients.

They must feed all day to keep up their high rate of metabolism. They need extra calories for migration. Some fall into the Caribbean when they run out of fuel, stored as fat in their bodies – people have seen it happen.

We sell the best kinds of hummer feeders at the Fields Pond Audubon Center.

The best food is sugar water mixed in a ratio of one part sugar to four parts hot water. You must empty the feeder and wash the feeder every two to three days and change the sugar water. I keep a week’s supply of sugar water in the fridge.

Using honey is a no-no – it can kill a hummingbird by botulism or infected sores in the mouth. Red color is a no-no, too; it is unnecessary and a carcinogen.

Don’t put too much sugar water in the feeder. Just put in two to three days’ worth of sugar water. Empty the feeder after two or three days. Rinse it with hot white-vinegar water and refill it again.

A few problems that can come up:

. Lack of birds. You’re putting up a hummer feeder for the first time and the birds aren’t finding your feeder. Try putting big, bright red artificial flowers next to the feeder. Take them down once the birds find the feeder. (If you call me at the Fields Pond Audubon Center, I can tell you about a free source of those flowers.)

. Hornets and bees. Try spreading a thin layer of petroleum jelly around the opening of the feeder, where the hummingbirds poke their bill. Hornets don’t like to have their feet in it. Also, stores usually sell “bee guards” near the hummer feeders. Bee guards look like tiny cages. If those fail, try moving your feeders. Hummers will find them again quickly, wasps less quickly. When wasps find it again, move the feeder again. Hummers won’t be here long – it’s worth the work to feed and enjoy the hummers until mid-September, then goodbye until Mother’s Day.

. Ants. Try petroleum jelly. If that doesn’t work, ant guards are sometimes sold near the hummingbird feeders. If that doesn’t work, keep moving the feeders.

It takes time, energy and ingenuity to feed hummingbirds, but it’s worth it as you watch these little gems buzz around.

For information on Fields Pond Audubon Center, call 989-2591.