Hummingbirds thrive on a sugary diet

While many people are cutting carbohydrates and replacing sugar with substitutes, there is one species whose diet is quite the opposiite: the Ruby-throated hummingbird.

Hummingbirds have been burning calories and tanking up on sugar all summer. Flapping at over 50 wing beats per minute and with a heart rate approaching 1,000 beats per minute, it's no wonder they need those carbs -- unlike my kids, who eat the sugar first then fly around the house like little hummers.

My children love to watch the hummers at our small window feeder. A male, exhibiting his vivid ruby throat, clings to a branch a few feet away. Instantly he takes flight to chase off another male, thus defending his personal sweet watering hole. A serious threat to our bird, the rival male is seen as nothing but comical to my 4-year-old.

My children also help change the sugar water in our feeder each week using a 1-to-4 sugar-to-water ratio. Although many people replace sugar with sweet substitutes, hummingbirds need the real thing.

To keep hummers healthy, people should clean their feeders weekly or when the solution gets cloudy. Use hot water, not soap. If black mold is growing inside, soak the feeder in a mild bleach solution. Hummers can tolerate low levels of bleach, but not soap residue. Refill the feeder with a fresh batch of sugar water. There's no need to add red food coloring.

Hummingbirds will double their weight in late summer to prepare for their journey south. One of the greatest mysteries is how these tiny flyers manage to travel thousands of miles with limited energy reserves. It's no wonder people used to believe that they stowed away on the backs of geese as they traveled south for the winter.

Most hummingbirds will vacate Missouri for the winter by early October. Occasionally some wandering Ruby-throateds and western species will show up here later in the fall. Leaving feeders up until mid-November can help those weary travelers receive the nourishment they need. Since length of daylight, not available food, determines how long hummers hang around, leaving feeders up will not ground a hummer with southbound flight plans. When the hummers have left, the feeder still should be cleaned and filled weekly, though perhaps only half full to avoid waste.

As I enjoy the last few bites of low-carb ice cream, I gaze at the hummingbird haven of young, nectar-rich plants my family planted this year. I look forward to watching hummingbirds dine there next spring and summer. To attract hummers using native plants, visit the GrowNative website (www.grownative.org) for a list of native hummingbird favorites. GrowNative is a joint program of the Missouri Department of Conservation and Missouri Department of Agriculture.

Feeding and watching hummingbirds has been an exciting family venture. If I can't indulge in pure sugar, at least I can delight in these frenzied flyers thumbing their beaks at this low-carb craze.

Steven Juhlin is an education consultant for the Missouri Department of Conservation.