A Hummingbird Reminder

A few weeks ago, I read some information about 

hummingbirds that I had not known.  

I had fed them off and on for years... and 

had not really paid attention to what I was doing about 

half the time. 

Here's the scoop I learned... 

hummingbirds can literally be killed by dirty 

feeders.... their tongues will swell when 

they have ingested mold, and they will 

starve to death, and it doesn't take long. 

I had already been cleaning mine frequently, 

but I have stepped it up considerably. 

This is one of the feeders that I use. 

It comes completely apart. 

I use a kitchen knife to pop the bee guards 

out of the bells.  See the mold growing?  I just cleaned these on Saturday. 

You notice I had to scrub the whole feeder.... see the mold? 

The bells pop right off. 

This is the little brush I use to get into everything and 

get them clean. 

Sorry for the cluttery picture... but the whole process only takes about 

ten minutes, and it's well worth it to keep the hummers safe. 

In this hot weather we are having now... I'm doing it every other day. 

I add new sugar water when I clean. 

Here it is on the back deck.  However.... hummers prefer shade for feeding, and they 

don't like hot liquid... who does? 

We are hoping to have our deck re-built at the end of the summer, and 

are going to include a little shaded place for the feeders to hang. 

I am moving this to the yard tomorrow. 

This is the feeder down in the yard, and it was cleaned today, too... it is much easier to clean with only two parts.  You see it it is popular. 

The hummingbirds are the latest feeders of the evening... they do not 

like to be bullied around by the other birds, and I love to watch them. The bell 

feeder is going to be re-positioned a little near this one, but far enough away that 

they don't fight constantly! 

Remember, clean your feeders!  

One last thing that I saw on Facebook today or maybe 

Pinterest...

(from the web... someplace) 

This appears to be a 2 liter pop bottle with 
holes punched in it, hanging over a play area for kids. 

This would work so well for birds, dogs, chickens, you name it!  
Yes, you would have to watch how much water you used, but what a nifty recycling idea! 

I'm going to have someone set aside a pop bottle for me and give it a try!