Winging It
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Wanna feel like a hummingbird? Just wash down a handful of No-Doz with five triple-grande Frappuccinos and a four-pack of Red Bull — and away you go. A hummer's metabolism is off the charts, with a heart rate that can reach upward of 1,000 beats per minute and wings that flap between 10 and 80 times per second. To maintain this breakneck pace, hummers have to eat more than their own weight in food each day. (They don't always live so urgently, though; at night or in times of scarce food, they can go into a kind of semihibernation called torpor, slowing their hearts to 1/10 the usual rate.)
If you put out the right feeder or plant flowers they like, chances are very good that hummingbirds will find you — and return like clockwork once they do. Feeders are inexpensive (see a few we like at left) and you can make the nectar yourself. Simply add 1 part sugar to 4 parts water after the water's boiled (to sterilize it) and cooled (adding sugar while the water's hot may create a syrup that can make birds sick). If you make it in large batches, it'll keep in the fridge for a week. (Some recipes suggest adding red dye, but this is unnecessary and possibly harmful.) To keep the birds healthy, change the nectar every couple of days, thoroughly rinsing the feeder with warm water each time to prevent anything nasty from building up. (Don't place nectar outside unless it's in a feeder or you'll have ants like crazy.)
Lots of plants have hummer mojo. Try those with red or orange flowers, such as bee balm, butterfly bush (attracts butterflies too, of course), trumpet honeysuckle, azaleas, and saliva. Check hummingbirdsociety.org for more suggestions; your local garden center can steer you toward those that work best in your area.
1. HummZinger Mini: Hummers love the bright red top, and the shallow feeder is easy to clean when you add new nectar. ($17, birdfeeding.com)
2. Opus Inc. Glass Hummingbird Feeder: Want to get away from plastic? Fill this mostly glass feeder with nectar and watch it catch the light. ($9, petfooddirect.com)
3. Droll Yankees Window Hummer: This brings the birds nearly into your house. Stick it to a window with suction cups and watch them enjoy their daily degustations. ($18, flatpatio.com)
At defenders.org, you can adopt a hummingbird ($20). Money raised goes to habitat protection.
