5 Ways to Nurture the Babies in Your Backyard

Provide A Good Meal After A Mighty Migration

The jewel of any backyard, hummingbirds travel up to 2,000 during migratory season and often return to the same spot year after year. Here are three ways to support them in your yard:

1. Plant a Blooming Buffet: Experts agree that a wide variety of blooms provide the most complete nutrition. In early spring, azaleas, rhododendrons and roses of Sharon in shades of red and purple will provide first class dining. In summer and fall, look for salvia, butterfly bush, morning glories, trumpet vines and fuschia.

2. Make Your Own Nectar: Sugar water feeders (without the red dye) are greatly appreciated. Bring one part sugar and four parts water to a boil on the stove and watch the sugar dissolve almost instantly as you begin to stir. Allow the mixture to cool to room temperature before filling your feeder. You may store unused nectar in the fridge for up to 5 days, but never feed your birds ice cold nectar as it will put them into a torpor, essentially slowing their metabolic function and rendering them temporarily unable to fly.

3. Protect Against Deadly Mold: Clean your feeder every 3 -5 days to avoid the dangerous mold and bacteria that can grow inside, and in some cases, cause fatalities. Feeders should be scrubbed in warm water and a small amount of mild dish soap or with water and a bit of vinegar. Rinse very well until water runs clear. Alternatively, you can use boiling water to sanitize and a small brush is helpful in cleaning the inside of the feeding ports.

Surprise the Songbirds at Sunrise

Feeding other visitors? Bluebirds will be delighted to wake up to a breakfast of mealworms. Orioles love sliced oranges hung from the trees or left on a quiet deck. And a blend of sunflower seed, nyjer, thistle and cracked corn is best for a wide variety of songbirds who have arrived to build their nests. You'll want to offer seed at a variety of levels with some on the ground.

When considering the location of your feeders, please keep in mind that your best viewing point may not be the safest for your birds. They prefer an area of cover in the tree line. Placing feeders in unsheltered areas can put birds at greater risk of predation by hawks, eagles and cats.

Create a Natural Wildlife Habitat

You don't need to spend thousands of dollars or hire a landscape designer to create a wildlife habitat. Let Mother Nature do the work for you. Leave one area of your property un-mowed allowing it to transform into a meadow full of native plants that provide food and shelter for wildlife. Plant native flowers, shrubs and trees to provide the foliage, nectar, pollen, berries and seeds that wildlife require to thrive. Provide fresh, clean water in a backyard pond or a small birdbath that is low to the ground. Dehydration is a real risk to birds during hot/dry spells and the water helps to clean and cool their bodies. Just be sure to dump out the old water daily and replenish with clean water once you've given the basin a light scrub and rinse with the hose.

Use All-Natural Yard Care For the Sake of All

Who would like a spritz of weed killer in their morning coffee? Perhaps a little fertilizer on that bowl of blueberries? A sprinkle of ant poison on the pancakes? Whatever chemical agents you use outdoors will inevitably invade the food supply of local wildlife and contaminate the places where they sleep and raise their young. Lawn and garden chemicals also make their way into nearby streams and lakes through water runoff on rainy days. The toxins penetrate species in the food chain in ever growing intensity known as bioaccumulation. The result is not always immediate death, but can lead cancers, organ damage, sterilization or birth defects.

Protect the babies in your neighborhood by using natural, organic elements to enhance your lawn and garden. Environmentally safe products not only protect wildlife and the vegetables growing in your garden, but also ensure greater health for your pets and children and cleaner drinking water for all of us.