Spring has long been thought of as a time of revival, renewal and rejuvenation. Whether or not it received its influence from Christianity doesn’t really matter, what’s truly important is that those bone-chilling, wind-stricken nights are behind us. We can now look forward to sunshine, beaches and catching some rays. But with spring comes spring cleaning, and the tending to of gardens, backyards and front yards.
But a 2016 warning from the US Fish and Wildlife Services has received much needed attention thorough ‘sharing’ on Facebook.
Read on to find out what these experts had to say about the upcoming months (and what comes along with it.)
Fragile creatures such as hummingbirds love to take up residence in well-maintained gardens.
Hummingbirds are usually small but colorful birds that beat their wings so fast, about 80 times a second, that they create a humming sound.
Well maintained gardens make for comfortable habitats for these birds if there are bright, colorful, nectar-rich flowers, bird feeders and birdbaths.
Hummingbirds generally reside all over the Americas from as far north as Alaska to as far south as Chile. Depending on how well your garden is maintained, they might decide to build a home in YOUR garden!
Hummingbirds are unique in that they can fly in all directions even backwards and upside down. They can even hover by flapping their wings in the shape of an ‘8.’
Hummingbirds will generally create small, intricate nests out of moss, spider webs and leaves.
But it is usually the case that female hummingbirds are the ones that build the nests while the males go out scavenging or hunting for food.
What is interesting and unique is that the hummingbird’s feet are only meant to be used for perching and are not used for either walking or hopping.
They tend to choose areas where there is a wide assortment of down-sloping branches that intersect over running water. But due to the versatility of these flying creatures, they can take up habitat almost anywhere.
They then enhance their homes with little bits of lichen in order to camouflage their nests from predators. Although this strategy is effective against their natural predators, experts urge humans to be more careful.
If you are out tending to your garden and are going to be doing some pruning or weed whacking, take a close look before you chop it off!
An unknowing homeowner could be harmlessly trimming their hedges when, all of the sudden, they’ve destroyed the hard built home of a hummingbird couple!
A hummingbird’s nesting area may have some tiny eggs. And when I mean tiny, I mean these eggs are extremely tiny since most of them are about the size of a jellybean!
These eggs are so tiny that they weigh about one-tenth of an ounce!
On the US Fish and Wildlife Facebook page, they posted: ‘Hummingbird eggs are tiny, about the size of jelly beans! Please remember to carefully check for nests before you trim trees and shrubs this spring.’
