Humming Birds in South America

by Hans Blumberg

Growing up in Massachusetts, I saw only a few hummingbirds over the years. And those that I saw were not in real life but only on documentaries on television. However, I saw many hummingbirds while traveling in South America over the years and always enjoyed watching them whenever I had the opportunity.

In 2002 we bought a home in Uruguay. We would visit each December for five to six weeks, so I brought a basic feeder with me and set it out in my yard each summer.

 

I marveled when I saw the videos on the internet where people had multiple hummingbirds at one feeder because I could only attract one–maybe two–birds at a time and when the second bird came it would run off the first bird and I would only have the one at the feeder most of the time.

 

 

 

We planted flowering shrubs to help draw the hummingbirds in and it helped; but I still could not attract many to my yard. I hung a few additional feeders and that helped too, but still not at all like I saw on the internet. I thought maybe there were only a few birds in my area and that was why I could not get a big crowd.

 

 

 

 

What I eventually discovered was that five to six weeks was just not enough time to attract the big crowd I was looking for. Then came the time we were there longer and things began as usual, a few birds like I always had and I think one or two of them had already been visiting me for a few years. Right after week six, things were starting to jump. I had at least ten different birds and they were starting to feed together, even though they are very territorial. By week eight, my flock had grown to around 30 different birds. I have many feeders but only have four or five active at the same time.

The solution I feed them is three parts water and one part sugar. I make up two liters at a time and keep the solution in the refrigerator. At the peak, I was making two  liters a day! I finally got the crowd I was hoping to have. I had to go to feeders with a larger capacity. Otherwise I would be refilling every 15 minutes.

I can feed them by hand. They now know me and sometimes one will sit on my coffee mug as I enjoy my morning coffee. Guests are amazed with my birds as they whiz around us, often coming within inches of us. They are not really bothered by my dogs. They seem to look at the dogs and be thinking about what is a safe distance.

I really enjoy the birds and would recommend to anyone who has an interest in the hummingbirds to set out a feeder or two and be patient and the show will begin.

The birds migrate in fall and once they have found you they will remember and come look you up the next summer. It was difficult to find feeders in Uruguay but I found them, strangely enough, in veterinarian shops.