by Diane Deming
Last winter while surfing the web, I saw a video of hummingbirds bathing in a red fountain by a home. Because I love to photograph birds, I thought that we needed to get this fountain to see if our hummers would bathe in it. I emailed the person who put the video on the web and she told me where she got her fountain. I tried to find it in the big box stores, but there was none to be found. I finally found it online and ordered it direct from the company. After the hummers arrived in the first week in May, we set it up near our house near an electrical outlet and started the fountain. It worked perfectly. We loved the soothing sound of the water as well as its appearance. We watched each day to see if the hummers would come. May, June, July, August, and still not one bird went near the fountain. I thought, maybe they just have to get used to it being there and that next year we would have more luck.
We had just about given up hope when my husband saw a hummer bathing in the fountain. I got my camera and had it ready for the next time. On September 22nd I took this. We had one juvenile male hummer that kept hanging around at our feeders well after the others had left for warmer climates this fall. This was the one who kept using the fountain. In fact, the last hummingbird left here on October 8th, the latest we remember. We read that if hummingbirds are born late in the season they have to have time to store up fat reserves for their long trip to Central America. This, and our unusually warm fall, may be why this juvenile male hung around so long.
Video: Diane Deming. Production: Rick Belcher
