After 10 pounds of sugar a day, couple gives up hummingbird hobby

For 18 years, Jim and Judy Ainsworth devoted themselves to feeding the hundreds of hummingbirds that flocked to their Cape Girardeau yard every year. But this year, they've decided to stop.

The wear and tear on the couple -- and the hundreds of pounds of sugar they went through -- are the reasons why the Ainsworths are looking for others to take on the joy of feeding the birds.

After Judy Ainsworth saw hummingbirds come to a friend's nectar feeder, a hobby was born. But Ainsworth said that hobby turned into "much more of a regular job."

One feeder ballooned to 24, holding 48 ounces of nectar each. At one point, the Ainsworths went through 10 pounds of sugar a day during peak feeding months, which lasts from May or June, all the way through August.

"And the birds don't take Saturday or Sunday off," Ainsworth said.

If they'd had 100 feeders, Ainsworth said, the birds would be there. Even while holding full feeders, the birds would fly up and eat. They weren't afraid.

Hummingbirds typically arrive by mid-April and leave in late September or early October, Ainsworth said. But if the end of this month turns out to be warm, they could arrive this week.

The couple had decided before last summer to stop feeding the birds. When the season arrived, they held fast until they saw one of the birds trying to get a drink from their pond. They couldn't take it, so they put up two feeders and went through 200 pounds of sugar.

This year, Ainsworth said they'll stick to their plan, but he might put out just one or two feeders.

"We both got a real kick out of it," Ainsworth said. "Those things are so comical and they're so mean with one another. They're territorial."

He said and Judy will miss having hundreds of birds around, but Judy's health doesn't allow her to get outside as she used to.

Ruby-throated hummingbirds, the type seen most often in Missouri, winter between southern Mexico and northern Panama, according to hummingbirds.net. It astonished Ainsworth the birds knew to come to his backyard to dine. But he learned from ornithologist Lanny Chambers, creator of hummingbirds.net, that hummingbirds return to their birthplace.

"It's hard telling how many hundreds and hundreds of birds we've handled as babies," Ainsworth said. "When they come back in the spring, they're coming home. I just find that amazing."

Feeding tips

* Use a solution of one part sugar dissolved in four parts of water. Ainsworth said when all the feeders were out, it was a constant job to keep up with the birds.

* Ainsworth said wearing red attracts hummingbirds. But the main thing is to keep the feeders clean. He uses hot tap water and a baby bottle brush. At the end of the season, the Ainsworths wash the feeders in vinegar water, which will kill any algae.

rcampbell@semissourian.com

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