The Hummer Heper: What Won't They Think Of Next
Last night's Birds and Beers was awesome! It was a huge crowd full of regulars and first timers. I think we're all ready to get out and do some spring birding--someone was even trying to start a pool of what the warbler seasons was going to be like. Thanks to everyone who came!
Right on schedule, our early spring snow storm has arrived--whoot! So, to let's ignore the snow and focus on what's ahead. One of my many jobs is working for a bird trade publication called Birding Business that is geared toward manufacturers of birding products and people who run bird specialty stores. One of my newer duties is doing a blog called Birding Business News where I plug in news stories pertinent to the industry (like sunflower prices) or cool new products coming down the pike. You're not gonna believe this one.
Hummingbird nesting material. Yep, that's what I said, hummingbird nesting material. It's called the Hummer Helper and was started with the folks at the Hummer House and is made up of natural fibers "to take the place of ever-harder to find spider webs." (Seriously, it's getting harder to find spider webs? Cause I feel like I see them everywhere.) Anyway, it was picked up by a company called Songbird Essentials and should be available at a bird store near you. On the off chance your local bird store isn't carrying it you can call 1-800-269-4450 to find out where you can get it.
It looks pretty cool and is made of natural fibers. Other birds will use it besides the hummingbirds, including finches, titmice, orioles, and waxwings. I think I might give it a go in Mr. Neil's yard. I think it'd be fun to set it up with the Wingscapes motion sensitive camera and see what all birds are coming to it. You can read more about The Hummer Helper here.
Right on schedule, our early spring snow storm has arrived--whoot! So, to let's ignore the snow and focus on what's ahead. One of my many jobs is working for a bird trade publication called Birding Business that is geared toward manufacturers of birding products and people who run bird specialty stores. One of my newer duties is doing a blog called Birding Business News where I plug in news stories pertinent to the industry (like sunflower prices) or cool new products coming down the pike. You're not gonna believe this one.
Hummingbird nesting material. Yep, that's what I said, hummingbird nesting material. It's called the Hummer Helper and was started with the folks at the Hummer House and is made up of natural fibers "to take the place of ever-harder to find spider webs." (Seriously, it's getting harder to find spider webs? Cause I feel like I see them everywhere.) Anyway, it was picked up by a company called Songbird Essentials and should be available at a bird store near you. On the off chance your local bird store isn't carrying it you can call 1-800-269-4450 to find out where you can get it.It looks pretty cool and is made of natural fibers. Other birds will use it besides the hummingbirds, including finches, titmice, orioles, and waxwings. I think I might give it a go in Mr. Neil's yard. I think it'd be fun to set it up with the Wingscapes motion sensitive camera and see what all birds are coming to it. You can read more about The Hummer Helper here.
Labels: Bird Feeding, Birds and Beers
posted by birdchick at 11:07 AM
14 Comments:
"(Seriously, it's getting harder to find spider webs? Cause I feel like I see them everywhere.)"
Yeah, but generally the birdies don't look INSIDE a house for the stuff!
heh heh heh
Touché! lol
Anything that might attract titmice sounds like it's worth it! You could get photos! Woo! They're so darn cute, and they don't really range up here around Montreal; there was one lonely one that stopped by a few times two years ago, but I'm pretty sure he was lost. Made my day, though!
love the humming bird photo and i think our little humming birds are pretty lucky here loads of nesting material in the barns and other sheds but could see a usefulness for it in some areas and anything we can do to help our wildlife I am all for
steve
Hummingbird nesting material??? Wow!
What a cute little hummer!
"Hummer Helper": Brown one pound of hummers and add to the "Helper." Feeds a family of four.
Or, as Randy Quaid said in "National Lampon's Vacation": "They call it Hummer Helper, but we like it by itself."
I love watching the blue tits harvest spider webs from our windows! If we had hummingbirds, I would help them out in any way I could!
Found your blog via Chicago Nature Lady. I like the Birds & Beers idea...I'll have to suggest it to the COS here in Chicago! ;)
The Hummer Helper - Not XXX rated??
Hi birdchick, I really like reading your blog. Thought you might find this interesting, it's on another blog I just started watching. This lady encountered an owl in an unusual location on her farm.
http://tinyfarmblog.com/2008/03/21/meet-my-garden-spirit-guide/
Kathi, you are so bad.
I wonder how field-tested "Hummer Helper" has been. One of the most important characteristics of spider silk in hummingbird nests is its ability to stretch. The nest can be thick-walled to fit and insulate two tiny hummingbird eggs with a cup just wide enough to squeeze in the incubating female's belly without leaking any heat. But once those eggs hatch and the babies start to grow, the nest itself has to grow--the spider silk stretches, and the nest grows more thin-walled and wider, and can be almost flat by the time the babies fledge.
So I wonder if one nestling isn't more likely to fall out before fledging when the nest was made with something other than spider silk? I hope people who use it make reasonably careful observations to find out.
My husband brushes our very fuzzy rabbit outside and leaves the fur out for the birds. We saw a chickadee fly off with a tuft of the fur the other day. I bet it couldn't believe it's luck in getting such soft material!
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