During the hot, sultry days of summer, when most of us are melting from the heat, the ruby-throated hummingbirds are full of energy, racing around as if it were the Indy 500. I often hear them screech to a halt and reverse course, chasing one another wildly from one end of the garden to the other. The hummers stop to refuel at many of the plants that have been included in our garden design specifically for them. However, we also hang several feeders so we can enjoy watching them from various vantage points around the garden.
The tray style feeders are a favorite with the hummers plus they are easy to clean, which is a bonus. The baby hummers have fledged their nests by this time, so the numbers in our garden have increased over the past few weeks. The young hummers are infrequent visitors to the feeders as the males expend extraordinary energy defending their nectar sources. They are greedy gents not willing to sharing with fellow hummers. Placing multiple feeders out of sight of one another gives the females and juveniles a better chance of getting to the feeders.
These feeders are not only used by hummingbirds. Several species of small songbirds such as chickadees, goldfinches, warblers, and house finches are known to appreciate a sweet sip. Some even use the ant moat as their personal water hole.
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| Carolina chickadee drinking from hummingbird feeder |
Several species of butterflies also appreciate the convenience of these feeders. I mostly observe butterflies here, who are not traditional nectar feeders, like the red spotted purple butterfly, who prefers sap, rotting fruit, and carrion (to each their own!).
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| Red-spotted purple butterfly |
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| cloudless sulphur butterfly |
Take a look at your hummingbird feeders. Are they doing double duty too? You may be surprised to discover a multiplicity of visitors.
