This four lesson course by author Melanie Votaw is a virtual whirlwind tour of the fascinating world of hummers (hey – that’s her word, not mine!). She starts off with a brief synopsis of the benefits these tiny creatures will add to your garden, and leads directly into some fascinating facts. For example – did you know that these creatures will eat many of the small bugs within your garden?
This course deals with the practicality of your feeder – what kind should you provide if you want to attract these delicate creatures. More importantly – what should you avoid in finding the appropriate one, and how can you maintain this feeder for optimal use. She even shows you where to place the feeder, and is willing to help the student with individual set-ups in the Discussion area.
Her Do’s and Don’ts are full of invaluable information, and make practical sense for both feeder and supplier. Careful instructions on cleaning and maintaining your feeder and area are detailed in Lesson Two, which also describes the kind of hummer you will see in your area. Lesson Three teaches you how to act and react with baby hummers as well as birds seemingly in danger – do you know what torpor is, or what to do about it?
The final lesson called ‘The Natural Hummingbird Garden’ gives pointers on the best way to start a natural habitat, and what kind of flowers/trees are best for your Zone (with links to figure out what that Zone is!) But my favourite to this whole course is the last section – how to photograph these flights of fancy wings!
Pictures throughout this course only add to the desire to create this habitat as soon as possible. Using only her own pictures, the vividness of the hummers’ colours are sharp and breathtaking. She has captured some in flight – poised, staring at us, caught in the camera as a still – forever frozen, and beautiful. While I have seen many ‘hummers’ at a feeder and in flight, I have never seen a close up of these sometimes elusive birds, showing such detail in motion. Of course I am greedy, and would have liked to see even more pictures of these ‘magical birds’; I have never seen a baby Hummingbird and would have loved a glimpse into this secret world.
As the winter sets in here in the Northern hemisphere, I can prepare for my new Hummer’s garden with Ms. Votaw’s advice and expert guidance, and dream of the warm summer complete with hummingbird feeder and lots of bright swirling colours.
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