June 28, 2008
How to Hand Feed a Hummingbird
Have you seen the photos on the Internet that show Abigail Alfano from Covington, Louisiana hand feeding a hummingbird? If not, I would be surprised, because those photos seem to have gone viral and been all over the Internet. If you are like me, you have probably wondered just how Abigail was able to get the hummingbirds to feed from her hand. Well, thanks to Birds and Blooms Magazine, it is now known how she was able to accomplish this amazing task. The five steps that follow were told to the magazine by Abigail Alfano, but I have put them in my own words.
- The hummingbirds must become used to your yard and the best way to achieve this is to offer them multiple sugar-water feeders.
- As the number of hummingbirds visiting your feeders increases, you must start spending time outside in order to get the birds used to your presence. This will take some time and in the beginning presence may drive the birds away. You must be patient and persistent. Eventually, the birds will come back.
- Once the birds are used to your presence there, you can hold a sugar-water feeder in your hand. Over time, the birds should eventually begin feeding from the feeder you are holding.
- On a day where you have a great deal of hummingbirds visiting your feeders, you will want to remove all but one of your hummingbird feeders. Next, you will want to place a small container filled with sugar-water in the palm of your hand. For example, when Abigail did this she used an old milk jug lid.
- Now comes the hard part, you must sit outside and wait. This takes time and patience. You will want to choose a day when you have a large number of hummingbirds visiting your yard and you will want to remove all other food sources, because this will improve your chances of success.
It truly amazes be that someone could actually get hummingbirds to feed from their hand. Personally, I don’t think I would ever have the patience for doing this. Nevertheless, I do love hummingbirds. Thank you, Abigail Alfano, for sharing with the world the steps of how you accomplished this remarkable task and also your personal photos of the event. What you have done is truly remarkable! You have also given others the hope that they too can accomplish this amazing feat as well.
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