FEEDING THE BIRDS

There is no doubt that birds are messy eaters. They do not clean their plates. They drop seeds on the ground. Sloppy eating is an advantage in the wild. The seeds flung on the ground produce more plants and thus more seeds.. However, in a small garden in the summer, the seed fallout can be a mess. The accumulation of sunflower hulls and excess seeds can make a thick carpet under the feeder, so thick it wipes out small plants. So if you put up a bird feeder, especially a large bird feeder, you have to find a spot where the excess seeds and hulls can fall without too much hassle.

It takes the birds a few days to find a new feeder. They like to have a bush or tree near-by to perch on while waiting their turn at dinner. Most birds are polite, feeding a few at a time. However, hummingbirds, the most feisty bird in birdland, love to battle and chase each other away. They will drive off other hummers even after they have eaten their fill.

Hummingbird liquid, made with 1 cup white sugar and four cups boiling water, should be kept in the fridge. The feeders need to be cleaned out from time to time and the best way to do this is with a long bottle brush.

Hummingbird feeders often attract ants which crawl up the tree or the feeder hook to get at the sweet liquid. When ants get trapped inside the liquid, the hummers reject the feeder. The only way I have found to repel ants is to paint the feeder hook (or the branch) with a sticky paste called Tanglefoot, available from the nursery. The ants crawl up but once they hit the Tanglefoot, a few get stuck and the others back away. A bit unsightly but this is the only method I know that works.