I haven’t ever put in a hummingbird feeder – I don’t want to give the bears any more reason to come check out my garden, and there’s a little part of me that feels like I’m feeding junk food to them by filling up feeders with sugar syrup…  So I’ve been stoked this week to discover a few resident hummingbirds (Selasphorus rufus) who have developed a healthy addiction to my nasturtiums.

Instead of relying solely on the downward power from their wings, hummingbirds rely partially on the upstroke from their wings to keep them aloft. Moths and other insects use a similar technique to hover; however, insects distribute their loft evenly between upward and downward strokes, while hummingbirds rely on the downward wing stroke for 75 per cent of their weight support.

Understanding that hummingbirds employ the upward stroke to stay aloft helps to explain why their wings are such a blur of motion. They rely on swift and continuous wing beating rather than powerful downward thrusts.

Robyn also explains that if you want to have a feeder, use a sugar-water mix, but make sure you clean it regularly and change the mixture, otherwise,  the sugar and water can become alcoholic and toxic to these little guys. There’s no need to add red dye to attract the hummingbirds – it can be harmful, and they’re attracted by the colour of the feeder, anyway.

If you don’t trust yourself to keep your feeder clean, (that would be me), I can definitely recommend nasturtiums.