Animal of the Month
This story appears as an on-going series in the "Gilroy Dispatch", "Morgan Hill Times" and "Hollister Freelance".
WERC: Brighten your winter garden with hummingbirds
October, 2011
By Colleen Grzan
WERC: Brighten your winter garden with hummingbirds
October, 2011
By Colleen Grzan
Through each season in our area, the iridescent emerald-and-scarlet Anna's Hummingbird is a familiar sight.
In the spring and summer, it has plenty of protein-rich bugs to eat, but the tiny bird does not migrate and with winter on the horizon, many of the flowers and insects they normally depend upon will be on hiatus.
To attract what John James Audubon called "a glittering fragment of the rainbow" into your garden, here are a few hints:
These will make your garden a veritable hummingbird magnet and backyard rainbow, come rain or shine.I
In the spring and summer, it has plenty of protein-rich bugs to eat, but the tiny bird does not migrate and with winter on the horizon, many of the flowers and insects they normally depend upon will be on hiatus.
To attract what John James Audubon called "a glittering fragment of the rainbow" into your garden, here are a few hints:
- Keep your hummingbird feeder clean and filled with fresh nectar (mix one part sugar - do not use honey or corn syrup - to four parts water).
- You can also plant colorful, tubular flowers such as salvia, columbine and fuchsia and especially winter-flowering plants, like kniphofia.
These will make your garden a veritable hummingbird magnet and backyard rainbow, come rain or shine.I
Colleen Grzan
WERC, the Wildlife Education and Rehabilitation Center, provides the community with rehabilitation services for orphaned, injured and sick native wildlife. It is supported solely by donations from businesses and the public.
WERC, the Wildlife Education and Rehabilitation Center, provides the community with rehabilitation services for orphaned, injured and sick native wildlife. It is supported solely by donations from businesses and the public.