HUMMINGBIRD HAVEN...

Thursday of this past week, I took a bus trip with a group from the YMCA. We went somewhere in Illinios, near the town of MaComb. Our destination was called - Hummingbird Haven. These people have been feeding and keeping track of the visiting hummingbirds for thirty years. More and more come there every year, because they keep them well fed. I learned one of several things that day which was don't use the red feed that is sold at some stores because it has been tracked and ends up as red solid kidneys in the tiny birds. They caught some tiny hummingbirds in little pink bags and take them out one at a time (1 in each bag) and check if the tiny birds have leg bands. If they do they read the numbr on the band and record it. Thus, they can tell if it is one of their birds returning. If the tiny bird does not have a leg band, they will put one on it and record the number so they can check that number to see another year if that bird has returned to their place. The secret for retuning birds is keep them fed. They migrate south of Mexico City and farther down to the Central America countries. They fly across the Gulf of Mexico to get there. A very long trip for such a tiny bird so they need to eat a lot. Their little hearts beat 1,000 times a minute. I will post some of the photos I took while I was there. By the way it was quite chilly that day and pouring down rain, but the birds kept coming. I would recommend a trip there to anyone who loves the little birds and who doesn't. You will learn a lot about the habits of the birds and how to feed them.