I was about five years old. We had a screened in porch and one morning when I stepped out onto the porch I discover a hummingbird had stuck its beak into the screen. I had never seen a hummingbird before, I didn't even know hummingbirds existed. Slowly I approached the screen, the struggling bird flapping wildly on the other side. I stood close to the screen, quietly studying the tiny bird trying to disengage itself from the screen, trying to figure out how I could help without hurting the poor little thing. Very slowly I raised my hand, and using the tip of my index finger, I gently pushed against the tip of the beak poking through my side of the screen. The trap was sprung and the hummer flew away. The memory has never left me, but many decades passed before I became interested in planting a hummingbird haven around my home.
After my home was built I didn't really have an interest in what the landscaper planted. Low maintenance was the priority and I told him to plant whatever he thought best. He put in some weigela, one bush just below a kitchen window. The bushes had to be trimmed each year, so they weren't as low maintenance as I had wanted. The second time I saw a hummingbird was one spring morning when the weigela were in bloom. But I still wasn't hummingbird crazy. When each spring came, and the weigela bloomed, I became more concious of the possibility I might see a hummer, but I didn't overthink the matter, just briefly enjoyed the handful of sightings when they happened.
Then I started walking through the neighbor for exercise. I started noticing the landscaping around homes. I saw a red feeder, but didn't know what type of bird it was feeding and didn't give it much thought. But the colors in the landscaping around the homes I found very interesting. By comparison, my home was neatly landscaped, but cookie-cutter boring. I decided I need to add some color, on a small scale, and decided to hang some baskets on my front porch. I bought some old-fashioned red petunias...and saw a hummingbird at the flowers. The next year I added a couple more hanging baskets of red petunias around the patio...and had more sightings. I got a book about hummingbirds from the library and found out who visited the red feeders. I bought my first feeder, an eight ounce strawberry with perches, and decided red petunias were not enough advertising.
I became hummingbird crazy 10-15 years ago.
What about you? What's your story?
Do you remember the first time you saw a hummingbird?
hummer_girl
Hello, what a wonderful memory to have. I really enjoyed your story. For myself I've watched for hummers through
the years and was happy when I got to see one. Now my DH is the one who has become hummer CRAZY, he's
started collecting anything that will keep them coming. We've tried the feeders and either the ants or the heat
gets to them so I was constantly changing them so now we're going the natural way. I hope to see many more
in the future. Have a wonderful day.
Wendee
Thanks, Wendee. My craziness has spread to my very good friend, who lives next door. When I buy seeds, I share with her so she can plant hummer attractors, also. She has put out feeders and has had better opportunities for photo shots, than I. So Jealous! I have bought a lot of feeders over the years, (I love the look of the blown glass feeders), but my hummers do not like the fancy ones. I use the feeder that is saucer shaped with perches and has a built in water well to keep the ants away, though I have never had a problem with ants. I hang one feeder on the front porch just under the roof overhang, and one on the opposite side of the house under the eaves near the patio door. Both are protected from rain, shady most of the time, and give the hummers an open view of their surroundings just in case there are any predators. Had a hawk Saturday going after the Cardinals that nest in the Burning Bush. Last year I was standing at the patio door watching a hummer go from the feeder on my right to the Begonia Bonfire on my left. The hummer hesitated several inches away from the blooms, and even though I had not moved, I thought my presence on the other side of the glass was making her cautious. Then a motion in the Begonia hanging basket caught my eye. The largest preying mantis I have ever seen, bigger than the hummer, if you can believe that, was extending it's body through the foilage toward the hummer, getting in position to catch a meal. The hummer hovered out of range, then flew off. Of course, I immediately got online to check out preying mantis as predators. Very gory information. The mantis left after I kept spraying water at its hiding place, and eventually the hummers resumed visiting the Begonia.
Early this A.M. we had a windy rain come through, and I spent some time doing damage control, staking and supporting all the nectar-rich plants I found laying over when I got up. A female hummer hovered within 2 feet while I was fixing the Mexican Sunflowers, and I kept telling her she was going to have to wait until I was through, then it dawned on me I was wearing a red t-shirt and she was probably more interested in my fashion choice than the droopy blooms.