Tiny, swift 'hummers' entertain hosts
Joe Mosby

All around Arkansas, people are finding good, wholesome entertainment right in their backyards.

They invite hummingbirds to hang around, cavort, cut up, chase each other and make use of copious quantities of sugar water. And the hosts sit on patios, decks or gaze out kitchen and den windows, gathering information for stories of "my hummers."

In bygone days, eyebrows would be raised at the amount of sugar these hummingbird enthusiasts buy at the local grocery. Those were the days when large purchases of sugar often indicated somebody was cooking up illicit booze in the woods.

Just one species of hummingbird is common in Arkansas - the ruby-throated. And they are very common, living from spring to fall in cities, towns, suburbs, on farms and in forests.

Their basic food is nectar from flowering plants. Sugar water is a substitute, and the tiny birds, often called nature's helicopters, readily take to outside hanging feeders filled with sugar water.

But birder circles quickly pass the word when another species of hummer shows up occasionally. Most of these are from the west, and they include the rufous hummingbird, Anna's hummingbird, broadwinged hummingbird and more. Arizona has 18 species of hummers living within its borders or visiting on occasion.

HUMMER AT THE FEEDER JOE MOSBY PHOTO A juvenile hummingbird perches near the colorful and nutritious blossoms of a Mexican sage plant.

A couple of rufous hummingbirds showed up in the birdfriendly backyard of Rosemary and Bob Scott on the edge of Conway.

The rare visitors were on hand a year ago, Rosemary Scott said. And they are a dominant pair, chasing off the regular and more numerous ruby-throateds from several sugar-water feed- ers. One of the rufous pair left after a few days this time, she said, but the other hung around.

"When we had that rain the other day, the rufous hummingbird did the strangest thing," she said. "It perched on a limb out in the hard rain and turned its head straight up, letting the rain hit it on the head."

The Scott backyard has a large plot of wildflowers ranging from early April bloomers to the late autumn-flowering species. Rosemary Scott said a Mexican sage plant with purple and white flowers is especially popular with the hummingbirds. Most birders regard red as the favored color for hummingbirds, but some say any flowers are used by the swift and tiny fliers.

Rufous hummingbirds are primary residents of the upper Pacific areas like Washington, Oregon and British Columbia. Ruby-throateds live in the eastern half of the continent from the Gulf Coast north into southern Canada. Both species, and other varieties of hummingbirds, make long migrations - to Mexico and other Central America areas, to Caribbean islands and to South America.

The entertainment aspect centers near the feeders. Male and female, the birds seldom hang out together but wing in to perch and sip, usually for just a few seconds, then they fly back to a limb of a nearby tree. But one bird often attempts to rule the feeder and the surrounding area. Another will approach, then a high-speed chase results.

The preference for red by hummingbirds once had persons with feeders coloring the sugar water with red food dye. This has fallen out of favor, and the suggestion now is simply to dissolve granulated sugar in water and pour it into the feeders.

A 4-to-1ratio of water to sugar is recommended. Heating the water makes the dissolving of the sugar quicker and easier.

Other wildlife may also be attracted to the sugar-water feeders. Ants and wasps show up, and birders use petroleum jelly on wires to the feeders to discourage ants. Even raccoons will drink the sugar water if they can get to the feeders - and raccoons are highly adept at such activities.

Migration for Arkansas hummingbirds begins in October. The old belief that leaving up feeders will cause the hummers to stay around too long and freeze in winter is discounted. Instead, experts and veteran feeders advise, keep the feeders filled until you are sure all hummers are gone, then take them down, empty and clean well.

And pass along the stories of the backyard show you have watched.