CHAPTER 6

PROVIDING WATER
AND OTHER LIQUID NUTRIENTS

Shallow depth and textured surface make this concrete leaf birdbath a perfect watering hole for pollinators.

HOW BEES USE WATER

Honeybees collect water for use in cooling the hive and feeding larvae in brood cells.

Bees get some water from flower nectar, but they still get thirsty just like humans. They need water to satisfy this thirst and to maintain their health and hive.

When bees collect water, they do it with the same efficiency as when they gather nectar and pollen. Bees search for water close to home and once they find it, fill their crops and ferry it back so it can be used for a number of things depending upon the time of year. Honeybee foragers carry water back to the hive and give it to other workers through a behavior referred to as trophallaxis. It may look like the bees are kissing; however, this mouth-to-mouth transfer of liquid is more complicated. In addition to unloading the water, it communicates information through various pheromones about the condition of the hive. In the process, the forager bee will learn from the worker bees whether it needs to make another water trip or not.

More water is needed during the spring, when nectar flow is not at peak, and also in the heat of summer. During the brood-rearing season, the nurse bees need lots of water to help feed their brood. They consume this water along with large amounts of nectar and pollen that they then regurgitate to make a substance called royal jelly for the newly hatched larvae to eat. As summer heats up, the worker bees will use the water to balance temperatures in the hive. They take the water and spread a thin film over the brood cells, and then vigorously fan the area to create evaporative cooling using the same mechanics as a swamp cooler to air condition the hive. In winter, honeybees use water to dilute their stores of honey that have become crystallized in cold temperatures, re-liquefying it in order to eat it.

Bees actually prefer “aged water” with some algae growth.

Like butterflies, some species of bees siphon water from puddles in order to extrude minerals and salts necessary for their health. Sweat bees will do the same but often find moist humans a perfect source for these valuable salts.

Bees seek out water wherever they can find it, and they’re not too picky about its condition—in fact, they seem to prefer dirty water. It’s thought that bees are attracted to water with some algae growth because of the smell. Some folks say bees like their water “well-aged.” Other times, it’s hard to explain why they are drawn to damp laundry or the dog’s dish for hydration, other than that it was right there at hand.

Plentiful blooms, grasses for cover, and shallow running water offer ideal habitat for pollinators.

Then what’s the thing with bees and swimming pools? Bees seem drawn like magnets to the big blue lagoons. This is one of those cases when the intersection of humans and insects results in many complaints. There are several theories that may explain the fatal attraction. One simple reason is that when large populations of bees live near a pool, a certain number may go belly-up in the pool due to natural causes. At the height of summer when people are most likely to be sunning or swimming, bees from a hive can die at a rate of 1,000 per day. They often drop dead while out foraging, and they just happen to do so while flying back and forth above the large turquoise target.

Other theories say bees are attracted to the salts present in the pool’s chemically treated water. They smell with their antennae and feet as well as their tongue, so some attribute the problem to something like “sweet foot” rather than sweet tooth. Actually, they are enticed by salt even more than sweet, so that may be why they end up in the drink. And since bees are mediocre swimmers, they end up soaked and unable to save themselves when faced with the steep sides of the pool.

If you garden with the goal of attracting bees or you maintain beehives close to your neighbor’s pool, it’s important to give your bees a safe alternative water source. Bees can easily drink without danger from water sources that have a graduated edge or something to grip onto. They try to stand out of the water while drinking to remain dry. So there’s no problem when they drink from puddles, pond and stream edges, shallow birdbaths, and the like.

Healthy garden habitats should always include some water, even if it is just a simple birdbath. Water not only sustains wildlife, it cools the garden with its presence and elevates the landscape with light, sound, and movement. For garden ponds and fountains, floating plants, such as water lettuce, water hyacinth, duckweed, and water lilies, provide a landing pad that bees can drink from safely. A few, such as pickerelweed, water hyacinth, lilies, and lotus, are forage plants as well.

Keep your bees consistently well watered, and they will keep away from the pool. Otherwise, the pool owner may have no option but to kill bees that are ruining their right to swim unaccosted by stinging insects. If someone has a problem with bees by their pool, let them know they can spray the offending bees with soapy water, since that will kill only a small number, with the hopes of discouraging their fellow bees from visiting the pool, too. As with solving any neighborly dispute, communication is key.

POLLINATOR FAVORITES: TEN NATIVE PLANTS FOR WATER’S EDGE

What could be better for pollinators than a serving of beautiful blooming native plants with a side of water? These plants all thrive in the saturated soil found along the edges of garden ponds and naturalistic water features. Food and drink all conveniently located!

NAME	SCIENTIFIC NAME
Blue-eyed grass	Sisyrinchium angustifolium
Blue flag iris	Iris versicolor
Buttonbush	Cephalanthus occidentalis
Cardinal flower	Lobelia cardinalis
Golden Alexander	Zizia aurea
March marigold	Caltha palustris
Monkey flower	Mimulus ringens
Obedient plant	Physostegia virginiana
Pickerel weed	Pontederia cordata
Swamp mallow rose	Hibiscus moscheutos

Obedient plant, Physostegia virginiana, adapts well to the water’s edge.

BUTTERFLIES: WHEN NECTAR IS NOT ENOUGH

While nectar and butterflies go hand-in-hand, many butterflies live on more than nectar alone and seek out non-floral nourishment from other sources. You probably couldn’t conceive of the butterfly garden they really want: lots of flowers, for sure, with some mud and a side of roadkill, sticky sap, rotting fruit, and plenty of poop for good measure. It turns out that dainty, delicate butterflies engage in some downright disgusting behavior (although they don’t think so, it’s just another means of survival for them). Never fear, though: there are other ways to provide liquid nutrients for butterflies without turning the garden into a garbage dump! It may be as simple as a few mud puddles.

MAKE A BEE WATERER OR BEE WATERING STATION

If you want to provide safe water sources that cater to bees’ particular needs, it’s easy to make a simple bee waterer. With a bit more ambition you can assemble a bee watering station!

MAKE A BEE WATERER

Find a shallow saucer-shaped container a few inches deep. The saucers that accompany flowerpots are ideal, but any similarly shaped ones will do. Size can vary; you may want to make several with different diameters.

Fill the saucer with marbles or polished stones from the florist section of your local craft store. You could use clear or colored marbles depending upon the theme of your garden. There’s no reason the bees shouldn’t drink in style.

Fill the saucer with water and wait to see who visits. The marbles or stones allow the bees to stand on them while drinking. Refresh the water regularly to avoid mosquito problems. Be sure to locate the bee waterer near forage areas. Also take care to place it where the bees won’t disturb guests or pets but you can observe their comings and goings when you want.

If you only want to enhance existing water features for bee imbibing, you can float tennis balls (the fuzzy surface is easy for bees to cling onto) or plain old sticks for landing spots. Or stay classy and float all those accumulated wine corks for the same effect.

MAKE A BEE WATERING STATION

Materials:

• One five-gallon plastic or resin flowerpot

• Small circulating water pump

• Two feet of plastic tubing

• One sheet of stucco lath

• Five short screws

• Assorted rocks and stones

• Pie pan or shallow metal dish

Turn pot upside down and trace outside opening on lath with a marker. Use leather gloves while cutting the lath into the circle. Snip five tabs into the perimeter of the lath so you can attach the lath with screws to the inside wall of the pot. Aim to have the screws fit in or under lip of the pot to avoid sharp edges. This will hold the lath across the top of the pot.

Before screwing the lath into place, install the pump at the bottom of the pot and pull the tubing and electrical cord through the lath. Screw the lath into place with sharp edges curved under so to not injure yourself and so that rocks will stay on top of it.

Fill the pot with water. Place the pie pan on the lath and fill with small stones. Add more rocks around the edges to hide the lath and give the bees additional surfaces to land on. Plug in the pump and adjust the tubing so the water lands in the pie dish. Give the bees a few days to find the bee watering station, and then have fun observing them while they drink up.

courtesy Albuquerque Beekeepers Association

Speaking of which, you may have seen large gatherings of butterflies on the side of the road or in a vacant lot that appear to be just sitting in a puddle of mud. They are doing something called “puddling.” Although both genders are known to puddle, males are more likely to engage in this behavior. This is because the mud puddles attract male butterflies seeking nutrients needed to aid fertility that nectar doesn’t provide. You can’t help but think the puddles are the butterfly equivalent of the pub. But before you call it sexist, be assured that while not as many females actually practice puddling themselves, they do actually benefit from this behavior, too.

A monarch butterfly laps traces of recent rainfall from maple leaves.

If you were able to magnify the scene, you’d see the male butterflies sit in damp patches of sand or mud and use their proboscis to filter feed or siphon minerals and salts from the moist earth. They in turn pass on this nourishment to the female in their sperm when they mate. Aptly called a “nuptial gift,” the extra nutrients not only improve her metabolism but assist in reproduction making for healthier eggs. Puddling is an essential part of butterfly reproduction, so much so that in times of scarce rainfall or all out drought, many butterflies will go into reproductive diapause, ceasing to mate or lay eggs until environmental conditions improve.

Monarch butterfly looking for a salty snack of minerals and sweat on this human hand.

However, sometimes a puddle is just for drinking. Butterflies can’t drink from open water; they need to find a source with shallow water and a sloping edge to stay dry while they drink, so puddles are perfect for this purpose. Even the smallest indentation in landscaping rocks or sidewalk pavers that collects falling rain can supply needed water; think of it as a teacup for tiny pollinators. Other times butterflies drink water from the surface of leaves. You’ll see them lapping liquid from wet foliage with their proboscis. (See Plants That Capture Raindrops and Dewdrops, page 115).

Sometimes a moist human will do. Visit some of the hot, humid butterfly houses found at zoos and botanical gardens, and you might find yourself with a hitchhiking traveler or two landing on your arm or head. You are probably a very nice person, but they don’t really like you as much as the salty sweat they intend to lick off your skin. Stand still and you can see the butterfly unfurl its proboscis and place it against your skin for a little taste. There exist in some places around the world butterfly species that even feed off of tears, mostly those of animals. Just be glad you won’t encounter a species like the madrilenial butterfly of Spain, sometimes known as the vampire butterfly, that likes to suck fresh blood.

Many butterfly species look for supplemental nutrition from carrion (animal carcasses) and dung. Butterflies in the carrion-eating food guild have a proboscis that’s shaped differently for drawing the fluids from such substances. It may not look palatable but the butterflies are able to extract valuable nourishment from the decomposing flesh or fresh manure in the form of salts, carbohydrates, proteins, and amino acids. It’s not unheard of to find large groups of butterflies, such as the gulf fritillary, feeding upon dead deer by the side of the road. At other times, you may find a butterfly dining on bird droppings.

FEEDING BUTTERFLIES

It may be hard to believe, but feeding birds is a billion dollar business. Why should birds get all the goodies when it’s just as easy and fun to feed butterflies? Chances are you’ve already got some of their favorite foods on hand, such as those blackened bananas over on the kitchen counter.

Do:

• Use a shallow container for “fruit salad.” Choose surplus and overripe fruit, such as oranges, bananas, and peaches.

• Put watermelon rinds to good use around the garden, placing them near forage areas. Whole melon slices of watermelon, cantaloupe, and honeydew will be appreciated even more.

• Freeze a banana, then thaw it out the next day. When it’s gray and mealy, mush it up in a saucer with 2 tablespoons of blackstrap molasses and 1/4 teaspoon dried yeast. Some folks add a little beer. Set out for butterflies, such as red admirals and painted ladies.

• For captive butterflies in classrooms or exhibitions, feed with Gatorade, Juicy Juice, honey water (one part honey mixed with nine parts water), or artificial nectar available from Monarch Watch (see Resources). Pour into a shallow container with a thin sponge or pot scrubber so butterflies can stay dry while feeding.

• Place feeders near windows and seating areas so you can observe and photograph the butterflies while they are busy feeding.

Don’t:

• Use granulated sugar and water for “butterfly bait.” Although many blogs and websites around the Internet suggest a sugar-water solution, it is not suitable for butterflies. It will gum up their proboscis.

• Use flowers from the florist. Many are bred specifically to contain little nectar. What nectar they may have won’t remain viable after being cut.

• Forget to enjoy the elegant beauty of butterflies!

Monarchs in captivity feed from sponge soaked in sugar solution.

The painted lady, admiral, question mark, red-spotted purple, mourning cloak, and viceroy butterflies are fans of rotting fruit. They can be found feeding on fruit tossed into compost bins or on the ground beneath fruit trees whenever orchard windfall is plentiful. And just as there are reports of birds getting drunk from the fermented fruit they gobble from trees, so are there stories of tipsy butterflies feasting on fruit way past its freshness date.

The mourning cloak butterfly consumes tree sap as the bulk of its diet. Emerging from hibernation already as an adult in early spring, the mourning cloak is right there ready to find sap on the move oozing from trees as temperatures warm. The dark colored mantle allows them to peruse tree trunks undetected while looking for the sticky food. They walk down the trunk upside down while feeding on the sap that seeps from woodpecker holes and other wounds to the trunk. Other species, such as the red admiral and hackberry emperor, supplement their diet with tree sap as well.

Last on the list of funny food preferences is that of the harvester butterfly whose larvae are actually carnivorous: they crave aphids for dinner. The harvester butterfly hangs around the same location once it becomes an adult and eats the sugary secretions of the same little pests, tucking into a delicious meal of aphid honeydew.

PLANTS THAT CAPTURE RAINDROPS AND DEWDROPS

For pollinating insects, a tiny drop of water is all it takes for a drink. Once the sun comes out after a storm, you’ll often find bees and butterflies sipping water from raindrops left on leaves.

Certain plants are better than others at capturing rainwater or gathering condensation. For example, Alchemilla mollis, or lady’s mantle, is known best for the sparkling droplet jewels that catch on its scalloped foliage. Its botanical name refers to alchemy, the magical process attributed to the plant in medieval times when people believed the pearls of moisture were made of “celestial water.” Nowadays, gardeners just appreciate this plant for the enchanting effect.

The dense hairs on leaves of lady’s mantle, Alchemilla mollis, are especially effective at capturing raindrops.

It’s fun to discover which plants in the garden excel at capturing and holding drops of water, whether it’s from rainfall or sprinkler spray. On early morning walks in the garden, when conditions are right, you’ll find shimmering dewdrops as well. Plants with dense hairs on the leaves, such as lady’s mantle, seem to do better at suspending the water drops. Plants with fuzzy leaves, such as lambs ears and silver mullein, sometimes hold the drops for a while until a slight breeze breaks the tension on the water’s surface and the wooly leaves are left damp. In other cases, the waxy surface of some plants makes for a perfectly smooth skin that helps maintain the cohesion of the water molecules so they bead up just like water on a freshly waxed car. Succulents and tropical plants with waxy foliage are at opposite ends of the growing spectrum, yet are both good candidates for catching raindrops.

Raindrops bead up on the waxy surface of succulents.

Some plants actually capture and funnel water with their leaves so that wildlife finds them useful as a drinking fountain. Bromeliads, the popular houseplants related to the pineapple, direct the water with curved leaves into a sort of holding tank for the plant. The little pool of water that collects at the center where the leaves join serves as a water trough for tiny creatures. Some Colocasia, or elephant ears, cultivars with cupped leaves collect water, then bend and spill it out ready for another free refill, of rain. Their names, ‘Coffee Cups’ and ‘Teacup’, say it all, but there’s another smaller variety called ‘Bikini Tini’ that holds water just as well.

Glistening raindrops on the foliage and blooms of Sedum ‘Xenox’.

It’s not only tropical plants that have this knack for holding water. Lots of hosta varieties can catch water among the dimples and folds of their foliage; however, Hosta ‘Abiqua Drinking Gourd’ leaves no doubt about its unique ability to hold water.

Native to prairies, Silphium perfoliatum or cup plant channels water into cups that are created where its leaf and stem meet up, offering birds, pollinators, and other wildlife a drink while feeding on it flowers or seeds. It should be noted that birds often hang around this watering hole waiting for these same thirsty critters and then call them dinner.

PLANTS THAT CAPTURE RAINDROPS Venture out into your garden after the next rainstorm and see if you can identify more plants that successfully capture and hold raindrops.
NAME	SCIENTIFIC NAME
Bromeliad	Bromelia
Columbine	Aquilegia canadensis
Daphne	Daphne odora
Elephant ear	Colocasia
Lady’s mantle	Alchemilla
Lotus	Nelumbo nucifera
Lupine	Lupinus
Nasturtium	Tropaeolum
Plantain lily	Hosta
Rodger’s flower	Rodgersia
Sedum	Sedum
Spurge	Euphorbia
Smoketree	Cotinus

Small pools of water on lily pads offer pollinators a place to drink.

GUTTATION: A DIFFERENT KIND OF DROP

Water droplets collect in the emerging foliage of Hosta ‘Albiqua Drinking Gourd’.

Sometimes you’ll see glistening beads of water decorating the edges of particular plants in your garden, with a drop of water balanced like an ornament on every leaf tip. The effect is fascinating but the name for the process is less than appealing. Guttation occurs when the soil is saturated and humidity is high. All of this moisture with nowhere to go creates root pressure in the plant, so the plant exudes the excess water through miniscule openings on the leaf margins called hydathodes. This happens at night so the resulting droplets are seen the following morning when bees are just beginning to make their rounds. The liquid seeping from the plants also contains xylem or plant sap along with minerals and salts. In fact, when these drops dry, sometimes you can see traces of salt on the leaves. Bees out foraging first thing in the morning are obviously on the lookout for pollen and nectar, but also for water for replenishing the supply needed to maintain the brood cells. So plant guttation is just one more water source that happens to be beautiful as well as useful for pollinators.

Guttation drops forming on the tips of fern foliage.

SAFE WATER

Pollinators need safe water sources free from pesticides and contaminants.

No matter where the water comes from, whether it’s the sky or the sprinkler system, the most important question surrounds the safety of the water. Just as humans need water free from contaminants and dangerous chemicals, so do pollinators. You have control in your garden over the use of pesticides. However, bees encounter lots of water sources beyond your backyard as they go about their foraging duties. Pesticide drift into water sources can happen just as easily in your neighborhood as in areas near farm fields. New systemic pesticides now mean the poison is inside the plant, bringing about a whole other set of increasingly complex threats to pollinator health and wellbeing. Although the dose may be what is called sublethal, meaning it doesn’t outright kill pollinators, it can cause disorientation that prevents bees from finding their hives and from communicating vital information about forage location or quality. More on the threat of pesticides and their usage can be found in Chapter 8.

FUN FACT

As they migrate northward in spring, hummingbirds drink tree sap from wounds in bark created by sapsuckers and woodpeckers.

“FEEDING” HUMMINGBIRDS

If you’re slow to get the hummingbird feeder refilled, you might just catch an earful. It’s not unusual for hummingbirds to fly up to the feeder and let out a string of short, sharp chirps that seem to scold you for your laziness. It’s not surprising since the sky-high metabolism of these tiny birds means they live in an almost constant low-blood-sugar crisis. You’d be cranky, too. Sheri Williamson, co-director of the Southeastern Arizona Bird Observatory jokes that a hummingbird’s vocabulary is 100 percent swear words.

But then almost everything about these little birds is extreme. They flap their wings around 80 times a second. They can fly as fast as 60 miles per hour. Their heart beats over 1,200 times a minute. All this action means they have to eat a lot and frequently. They may visit as many as 1,000 flowers per day consuming the sweet nectar that powers their bug-seeking activities.

Naturalists first discovered that hummingbirds in captivity would eat sugar water from containers as early as the late 1800s. By the early 1900s, various scientists and birding enthusiasts were experimenting with different vessels—glass bottles and test tubes fitted into a number of apparatuses. In 1950, the first commercially made hummingbird feeder was put on the market, and within a decade, the feeding of the little birds proved to be a new popular pastime.

Hummingbirds don’t know instinctually to feed at the funnel-shaped ports, but they quickly learn to associate the feeder with the sweet syrup they crave. While flower nectar has about 12 percent sugar content, the sugar water solution in feeders comes in at 25 percent. And although they drink heavily from feeders, it remains only a supplement to their natural diet; they will still feed on flowers that provide the vitamins and minerals they need. They can be seen flitting back and forth between nearby flowers while visiting the feeder. And with each meal some of that food is stored in fat reserves to keep them from starving when it’s cold or they need to rest. At the end of the day, the little bird that weighs only a tenth of an ounce will have consumed half its body weight in sugar.

THE RIGHT SOLUTION

Current thinking on health and wellness tells us to cut down if not avoid sugar altogether. Perhaps it’s only human for us to want to assign those same values to the animals in our lives. But it’s one thing to adjust your dog or cat’s diet and totally another to try and make hummingbird food “healthier.” Plain and simple, they need sugar and lots of it. When it comes to supplemental feeding for hummers, the motto should be “accept no substitutes.” The time-tested recipe for hummingbird food is almost too simple, 1:4, one part sugar to four parts water.

Most people by now have been convinced to cut out the red dye once thought necessary to attract the hummers’ attention. Still many folks like to see the feeders glowing with the red jewel-like liquid. Red dye No. 40 is a synthetic product that has no business in bird feeders (studies are inconclusive but common sense tells us to ditch the dye). Especially when you see how many hummers fight over feeders filled with crystal clear sugar water, why add one foreign ingredient?

Nectar concentrates offer an easy way to refill those feeders without all the gritty, sticky mess of making it from scratch, if you call mixing sugar and water “scratch.” Make sure you are buying concentrate for convenience, though, and not for the promise of “high energy sucrose,” which is, simply translated, sugar. Any other additives, such as protein, are unnecessary. Birds in captivity in a lab or rehab setting are the only ones that might need supplemental protein to make up for lack of naturally occurring insect meals.

ASK THE EXPERT:

DR. DONALD MITCHELL

Donald Mitchell has an M.S. degree in Conservation Biology from the University of Minnesota and has conducted field studies of hummingbirds and the plants they pollinate in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Colorado, and California. He is a federally permitted hummingbird bander and has served as vice president of the Minnesota Ornithologists’ Union. He is a University of Minnesota Extension Master Gardener and attracts hundreds of hummingbirds annually to his garden near the Mississippi River in Red Wing, Minnesota.

Q. Why hummingbirds? What in particular about them fascinates you?

While I was a biology major at UC Berkley, I took a summer field course in the Sierra Nevada that required a pollination project. I chose a plant at random, a really tall delphinium that was pollinated by bumblebees and also the Calliope hummingbird. The Calliope male has an iridescent throat striped like a candy cane. I loved watching them visit that patch of flowers. These tiny birds mesmerized me and I was hooked. Large animals like lions and elephants that inspire conservation groups are called “charismatic megafauna.” I like to say that hummingbirds are “charismatic microfauana.”

Q. Are they as threatened in the same way as bees and butterflies? Are there other concerns?

There is no major threat to the group as a whole. There is no direct threat from insecticides, but there may well be an indirect threat since hummingbirds eat insects. However, climate change may be an issue for some birds. Changing climate has been implicated in an earlier bloom time of nectar plants at higher elevations in the western US that broad-tailed hummingbirds rely on when they return to their breeding grounds. So the bloom and arrival times are becoming increasingly out of sync.

The most dangerous time for a hummingbird after fledging is that first migration south. It doesn’t follow a flock or have a parent to show the way. It just kind of points at a compass setting and starts flying. The lucky ones follow a direction that takes them by good food sources. If it does find a good route, once it’s completed that cycle it can follow the same route again. Then there’s a higher survival from year to year after that.

Q. Tell us about your involvement with banding hummingbirds, what do you learn?

The most important finding in banding studies is learning more about the demographics of bird populations and specifically when you band birds on their summer breeding grounds. They tend to display some amount of site fidelity, meaning they tend to return summer after summer to the same location. When I recapture birds that I’ve handled in previous years, it just astounds me that this tiny little organism has made it all the way down to Mexico on its own and back under its own power. With banding, we’ve also found out they display fidelity to migration routes and wintering areas.

Q. Plants or feeders? Does it matter?

I have feeders and flowers. Certainly, if I didn’t have the feeders I wouldn’t get the huge numbers of hummingbirds in my yard. However I would much rather use flowers simply because I enjoy the gardening aspect and I get a bigger kick out of watching hummingbirds visit flowers I planted for them and most likely chose and propagated myself.

Q. What tips do you have for feeders?

I mix up a large gallon jug of solution and use warm water to dissolve the sugar more easily. Then I store that in the fridge. I don’t boil the water because once you put the solution out in the feeder the very first hummingbird that dips his bill in the feeder is going to inoculate the solution with bacteria. So it’s an additional step that really isn’t necessary. It’s much more important to keep the feeders clean at all times. A lot of people get excited at the beginning of the season but get less attentive as time progresses. Keep the solution fresh and the feeders clean throughout the season.

Q. Do feeders discourage hummers from migrating at the right time?

No, because hummingbirds receive their cues to migrate not from dwindling food sources but rather the shortening of the day. So as soon as the days start getting short, that gives them the cue that it’s time to start putting on fat to get ready to migrate. In early September I have dozens of hummingbirds crowded around my feeders tanking up for migration. At a certain point, they just leave on their own.

Q. What’s in your yard?

Aquilegia canadensis, native columbine, is a good early season food source. Lonicera sempervirens, or coral honeysuckle, is also an early one. Monarda didyma, scarlet bee balm, is one of my favorites. Silene regia, scarlet catchfly, is a good one, and it’s super easy to start from seed. Lobelia cardinalis, cardinal flower, is another favorite for a couple reasons. It can handle some shade and less than well-drained soil. Plus it blooms in late summer, which is the best time of the year to have hummingbird-attracting plants when you have a population explosion, all the fledglings and adults all fueling up for the southbound journey.

Regardless of all this, confirming the huge affection folks feel for hummingbirds, there are still people with purely good intentions wanting to make the nectar more wholesome. Some people boast they only use organic sugar, others of raw sugar. Hopefully people heed the plentiful warnings to never use honey, fruit gelatin, fruit juice, or brown sugar. And whatever you do, no artificial sweeteners! In the end, white granulated sugar that closely approximates the same chemical makeup of flower nectar seems to be preferred by hummers despite our well-meaning motives.

Although the jury is out, some hummingbird experts think distilled water might lack needed minerals and salts present in tap water. With that in mind, you should never add table salt to any hummingbird solution, even if you use distilled water.

It’s simple and economical to make your own nectar. Arguments abound over the need to boil the water or not. Most contamination comes from the bird’s bill rather than the water or sugar. If you’re making large amounts of nectar, some experts think boiling is a better option. Mostly try to make no more than your hummingbird crew can use in a week, keeping any extra refrigerated. Whether in the fridge or the feeder, when the nectar gets cloudy, that means it has spoiled.

FAVORITE FEEDERS

There are two main types of feeders for hummingbirds, inverted bottle or basin, yet there are hundreds of variations on those two styles. What’s the best style for hosting hummingbirds? The answer is the one that’s easiest for you to disassemble, clean, and refill. By their very nature, hummingbird feeders are a sticky proposition and their maintenance can be bothersome—so be sure to find a feeder you can live with.

A hummingbird perched between sips at an inverted bottle style feeder.

Glass feeders come in many forms: ornamental bottles, blown glass bubbles, potion-style pots, covered bowls, and more, in every color of the rainbow. These feeders are usually hung on poles or hooks around the garden. Some are attached to garden stakes you can situate in containers or throughout the flowerbeds. Red flowers in glass, metal, or plastic often form the feeding ports. These decorations suffice to attract the birds instead of dye. You can choose between feeders with a single port to one with multiple feeding opportunities depending upon how many birds visit your garden. Plastic feeders have the advantage of being less expensive, so it’s possible to place more of them around the garden. They are lightweight, so they also usually have a larger capacity.

People are of two persuasions about perches on feeders. Hummingbirds are barely able to walk or hop on feet designed more for perching. After all, they spend 80 percent or the better part of the day perching. Providing perches saves them from expending energy hovering while feeding, effectively giving them a break. But some people find the perches block their field of vision and get in the way in photographs.

Feeders should be scrubbed out with hot water and a bottlebrush with every refill since they tend to accumulate black mold and other residues. Most experts discourage the use of soap that could leave residues. Instead they advise once every few weeks disinfecting with a bleach solution of 1/4 cup bleach to one gallon of water. Feeders with only glass and metal parts can be run through the dishwasher on the sanitize setting. Feeders with plastic parts need to be washed by hand. The fewer parts to the feeder, the simpler the task.

LOCATING THE FEEDER

Hummingbirds flit back and forth between flowers and feeder.

Place the feeder where you can best enjoy the antics and aerial maneuvers of your hummingbird guests while they fuel up. This may be outside the kitchen window or just off your front porch. If you’re worried about glass strikes, apply stickers on the window or use blinds. Whenever possible, locate the feeder in partial shade since warm temperatures spoil the feeder contents faster.

The ideal feeder location has plenty of hummingbird-approved flower favorites planted close by as well a few places for perching. From there they can watch for tasty insects and unwanted interlopers. As the season begins, males are in competition for females and food, and once they claim their territory, they’ll defend it vigorously. They can be quite aggressive in protecting the 1/4-acre patch they are known to stake out. Females determine their territory once they have mated and built a nest. They don’t want the flashy males around drawing attention to their vulnerable young, so they’ll fight them away with beak and claw if needed.

Males use a number of strategies to ward off other males entering their territory. At first they may just fluff up their feathers and flash their iridescent gorget, the conspicuous red spot on their throat, in a show that communicates their robust health. If that fails, they may dive-bomb their opponent or give chase on wing, running them off to someone else’s yard. At other times, it can get physical with actual fighting.

This behavior may seem like bullying but it’s just the natural scheme of things in the hummingbird world. Yet if all this posturing ruins the peaceful scene you expected, you may have to take action. Provide more than one feeder and place them close together where they all focus on feeding rather than fighting. Or try locating the feeders in different locations for an out-of-sight, out-of-mind approach. If nothing helps, you may have to treat them like squabbling children and let them work it out on their own!

UNWANTED VISITORS

Hummingbirds aren’t the only wildlife in the garden that appreciates a sure source of sugar. Ants, bees, and wasps may all show up and partake. If uninvited guests such as these are a problem, there are several things you can do. Change out bottle feeders for basin style feeders. Bottle feeders, no matter how tightly fastened will always leak and drip a bit in warm weather due to pressure changes. If ants are a persistent issue, purchase feeders with an ant moat since dead ants floating in the syrup put off hummers. If bees or wasps come looking for sweet stuff, you can try removing or painting over any yellow parts of the feeder that may attract them. Sometimes simply moving the feeder to a different location, even just a few feet, solves the problem. Don’t use oils or sticky substances, such as petroleum jelly or duct tape, to trap pests as hummingbirds may brush against the material and get it in their feathers.

Cats, both domesticated and feral, are the most common threat to hummingbirds while they are visiting feeders. If cats are a problem in your garden, hang the feeder at least five feet high and in a place without cover for a stalking cat. Keep your own cats indoors if you value your hummingbirds’ safety.

Note: Bats are perhaps not unwanted but definitely unexpected visitors to the hummingbird feeder. Luckily, bats happen to be pollinators, too! In areas of the Southwest, there are two species of nectar-eating bats that show up in springtime following the blooms of agave and saguaro plants. During this time, they often find hummingbird feeders irresistible. They can drain the feeders overnight and make a big mess of it, too. The bats don’t hover like hummers but fly up, pause and quickly sip from the feeders with their incredibly long tongues before losing altitude. If you find the bats fascinating you could put out extra feeders or modify existing feeders to have bigger ports to fit their feeding method. One of the bats is on the endangered list, and the other is a species of concern, so they could use the help. If you only have eyes for the hummingbirds, bring in the feeders each evening. But be prepared to return them very early the next day when hummers are out foraging with a fierce hunger after sitting it out the night.