ÿþ<html><head><title>spartanburg.com news: Attracting Hummingbirds to Your Backyard Wildlife Habitat Site </title></head> <body bgcolor="#ffffff" link="#003366" alink="#800000" vlink="#003366"> <center> <table width="600" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="3" bgcolor="#FFFFFF" border="0"> <tr><td align="right" valign="bottom" rowspan="2"> <a href="/index.shtml"><img src="/images/logo.jpg" border="0"></a></td><td align="right" valign="top"><font face="verdana,arial,geneva,non serif,times" size="-1"> <a href="/index.shtml#directory">wnc business & community directory</a></font></b> </td></tr><tr><td valign="bottom" align="right"> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" border="0"> <FORM><tr><td valign="top" align="right"> <font face="verdana,arial,non serif" size="-1"> <b>go to...</b> <SELECT NAME="menu" onChange="top.location.href = this.form.menu.options[this.form.menu.selectedIndex].value"> <OPTION SELECTED VALUE=""> [make selection] <OPTION value="/restaurants/">restaurants <OPTION value="/entertainment/">entertainment <OPTION value="/shopping/">shopping <OPTION value="/visitorcenter/">visitor center <OPTION value="/community/">community <OPTION value="/news/">____________ <OPTION value="/news/">news & weather <OPTION value="http://cgi.spartanburg.com/cgi-bin/upcoming.pl">calendar <OPTION value="/movies/">movie guide <OPTION value="/marketplace/">____________ <OPTION value="/realestate/">real estate <OPTION value="/classifieds/">classifieds <OPTION value="/employment/">employment <OPTION value="/help/">____________ <OPTION value="/index.shtml#directory">site map/index </SELECT></font></td></tr></FORM> <tr><td valign="top" align="right"> <font face="verdana,arial,non serif" size="-2"> <a href="/index.shtml#directory">OR, click here for site map</a><br> <img src="/images/clear.gif" width="30" height="5"></font></td></tr></table> </td></tr></table> <table bgcolor="#FFFFFF" width="600" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="3" border="0"> <tr><td align="left" valign="top"> <img src="/images/bar.gif" width="600" height="3"><br><center> <table width="98%" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" border="0"><tr><td align="left"> <font FACE="arial,times" color="#AFAFAF"><font size="2"><b><i>spartanburg.com community news</i></b></font><br> <font size="4" color="#AFAFAF"><i><b>Attracting Hummingbirds to Your Backyard Wildlife<br> Habitat Site</b></i></font></font> <img src="/images/clear.gif" width="30" height="7"></td><td align="right" valign="top"><a href="/index.shtml"><img src="/images/home.gif" border="0"></a><br></td></tr></table> </center> <br><font FACE="arial,times"><font size="-1"> <img src="images/hummingbird.jpg" border="0" align="right" width="175" height="200"> Tiny, iridescent hummingbirds are an exciting addition to your habitat. Hummingbirds visit SC from March through November and you can attract them by planting red, tubular flowers. Over 160 native, North American plants depend exclusively on hummingbirds for pollination. Many red-flowered annuals, perennials, vines, and shrubs available from mail order sources or local garden centers are developed from the native red-flowered plants of the western hemisphere. <p><b> Hummingbird Plant List</b><br> Here is a list of some plants that are native to SC and are generally successful in attracting hummingbirds:<p> American Plum<br> Aster<br> Bottlebrush Buckeye<br> Cardinal Flower<br> Carolina Jasmine<br> Clethera<br> Columbine<br> Coral Honeysuckle<br> Crestid Iris<br> Crossvine<br> Downy Phlox<br> Fire Pinks<br> Florida Azalea<br> Indian Pinks<br> Lyreleaf Sage<br> Red Buckeye<br> Tulip Poplar<br> Wild Columbine<br> Wild Rhododendron<p><b> Important Hummingbird Feeder Facts</b><br> Hummingbirds in the United States feed on flower nectar and many small insects. Your garden should provide a healthy, steady diet of both. Beginning in March, hang hummingbird feeders in the shade. Be sure to clean and refill feeders every two-three days under normal circumstances. If you go on vacation, take the feeder down to prevent fermentation while you are gone. Fill with a boiled solution of four parts water to one part white refined sugar or commercial  nectar mix. Do not use honey solutions in feeders as they may produce a fungal disease fatal to hummingbirds. Clean sugar water feeders every three to five days using a brush and a mild detergent solution. Rinse well. <p><b> HUMMINGBIRD FACTS</b><br><ul> <li>The smallest bird in the world, the Cuban Bee hummingbird, is 2 ¼ inches long about the size of a bumble bee. <li>Hummingbirds, like helicopters, can hover. They can move ahead, sideways or backward at will. <li>A Ruby-throated hummingbird, weighing about one tenth of an ounce can travel 600 miles in migration. <li>Hummingbirds may drink up to eight times their body weight daily. <li>Although their normal body temperature is about 103°ðF (40°ðC), it may drop to 70°ðF (21°ðC) at night. They have the ability to endure temporary cool weather or cool nights by becoming dormant. <li>There are 340 species of hummingbirds in the world. All are found in the western hemisphere. Of these, only one, the Ruby-throated hummingbird, is regularly found east of the Mississippi River. <li> Flying consumes a great deal of a hummingbird s energy, with wingbeats measured at 20-200 beats per second. <li> Pesticides, especially sprays, can be lethal to hummers. Even if they do not take in enough nectar dosed with malathion, Sevin or diazinon to kill them directly, the number of small insects available to them in your garden will drop dramatically. This may cause starvation and/or death of the young.</ul> <p><b> Other Excellent Hummingbird Resources:</b> <p> <a href="http://www.rubythroat.org/"> Operation RubyThroat</a><p> How to Attract Hummingbirds and Butterflies; Ortho Books, 1991. <p> The Hummingbird Book; Stokes, Donald W. and Lillian Q. Little Brown and Co., 1989. <p> The Hummingbird Garden; Tekulsky, Matthew. Crown Publishers, 1990. <p> (Story and image provided by SC Wildlife Federation.) <p> <br><img src="/images/line.gif" height="3" width="290" vspace="3"><br> <font face="verdana,arial,non serif,times" size="-2">all contents copyright &#169; 2005, spartanburg.com. <b>contact:</b> <a href="mailto:info@spartanburg.com">info@spartanburg.com</a> or 864.235.1211<br> <font face="arial,times" size="-1"><b><a href="../advertise.html">For listing and advertising information...</a></b> </font><p> </center> </td></tr></table></body></html>