Attracting Hummingbirds for Photography
Last summer, I was trying to get some nice photos
of hummingbirds and was somewhat frustrated at getting them to pose for shots.
So I decided to do something about it!
The hummingbirds would only spend a few seconds at each flower and this seldom gave me time to get the photo framed and focused. At my hummingbird feeders, they usually spend around 30 seconds perched there while feeding. So I figured it was just a matter of there wasn’t much nectar in a flower. Easy to fix!
I went by a local farm supply store and picked up a syringe (6cc capacity) and a rather on the large size needle. After snipping off the point of the needle, I filled it with the sugar solution I use for my home feeders and proceeded to supplement the nectar supply of a few flowers by putting a few drops of the solution into the throats of the flowers.
It worked! The hummers tend to stay at least twice as long and ofter much longer at each flower that I treated. And it seems to do no harm to the flowers.
The recipe that I use for the sugar solution in my hummingbird feeders and the syringe is the standard 4:1 (water to sugar) solution. Boil one cup of water, remove from heat and dissolve 4 tablespoons of regular white table sugar. Do not add red food coloring - Do not add honey - Do not use unrefined or brown sugars.
Of course you can double the recipe as needed - you can even store the solution in the fridge or freezer for a couple of weeks until the next feeder refill or to use in a syringe.
In cleaning your feeders, a good rinse in hot water and perhaps a few shishes of a bottle brush should be all that is required. But if you feel the urge to do more, be sure to rinse the parts thoroughly several times.
The hummingbirds would only spend a few seconds at each flower and this seldom gave me time to get the photo framed and focused. At my hummingbird feeders, they usually spend around 30 seconds perched there while feeding. So I figured it was just a matter of there wasn’t much nectar in a flower. Easy to fix!
I went by a local farm supply store and picked up a syringe (6cc capacity) and a rather on the large size needle. After snipping off the point of the needle, I filled it with the sugar solution I use for my home feeders and proceeded to supplement the nectar supply of a few flowers by putting a few drops of the solution into the throats of the flowers.
It worked! The hummers tend to stay at least twice as long and ofter much longer at each flower that I treated. And it seems to do no harm to the flowers.
The recipe that I use for the sugar solution in my hummingbird feeders and the syringe is the standard 4:1 (water to sugar) solution. Boil one cup of water, remove from heat and dissolve 4 tablespoons of regular white table sugar. Do not add red food coloring - Do not add honey - Do not use unrefined or brown sugars.
Of course you can double the recipe as needed - you can even store the solution in the fridge or freezer for a couple of weeks until the next feeder refill or to use in a syringe.
In cleaning your feeders, a good rinse in hot water and perhaps a few shishes of a bottle brush should be all that is required. But if you feel the urge to do more, be sure to rinse the parts thoroughly several times.