Ever since we started feeding the birds I have been eyeing up the hummingbird feeders in the shops and wondering whether they would really attract any of these tiny creatures.
In the winter cold it was hard to imagine that such a tropical bird would ever be interested in being here but now that it is as balmy as a summers day in the tropical house at Bristol Zoo, it is a different story and apparently the migration from Central and South America brings these birds - usually on this Eastern side of the country the Ruby Throated Hummingbird - from mid April onwards and they are here until early October.
We bought our feeder a few weeks ago but with some scepticism and only actually filled it with the 'nectar mix' - essentially coloured sugar water - at the weekend. The guidance advised that it would be several weeks before it would be noticed. It is not as golden as it appears here, more like Rose Hip Syrup used to look, evidently red is an important colour to attract them, hence the little red flowers that surround the feeding holes.
This evening, to my complete surprise, I looked up to see a tiny fairy-like creature hovering at the feeder...
No photo yet, I didn't dare move, but we are very thrilled to have attracted our first little 'hummer' and hope to capture a photo soon!
(Shortly afterwards our friend the grey cat turned up on the decking so we didn't anticipate that our tiny visitor would return today..)
And there was me thinking it was a continuous drip feed of Pimms. Looking forward to seeing the humming birds
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