By Damon Arthur
Scripps Howard News Service
Without looking at either the sky or the weather report, Monty and Rita Turner know when rain is on the way. They only need to look out onto the front porch of their home.
Hummingbirds are typically flitting about the four feeders hanging from the porch ceiling. But just before a rain there are typically many more hummingbirds eating their fill, Turner said.
It also could mean snow.
"We have pictures with snow falling and the feeders are covered with birds," Turner said. "It's unbelievable. We've really started something, I'll tell you."
The Turners started feeding their hummingbirds shortly after they retired and moved from Orange County, Calif., to their property east of Bella Vista, Calif., six years ago. In Orange County "we had a bird feeder and if we got one bird we'd get all excited," Turner said.
These days it's common for the Turners to see more than 30 birds feeding and hovering about the feeders. They also prefer feeding at dawn and dusk.
Bob Yutzy, a bird enthusiast from Shasta, Calif., agreed the birds are as reliable as rain at predicting it. "It's like they talk about animals sensing earthquakes. Well, animals certainly know weather," he said.
Turner said the birds seem to eat in shifts. A group will stop briefly to dip their long bills into the feeder holes and buzz off. Others waiting their turn in a nearby oak tree immediately swoop in to take their place.
Keeping that many hungry birds satisfied keeps the Turners busy.
On Wednesdays Rita Turner typically buys four 10-pound bags of sugar at the grocery store and mixes up six gallons of hummingbird food. She makes a mixture of four parts water to one part sugar. Each of their feeders holds a quart.
They use two 10-pound bags of sugar in two days.
"It's crazy, isn't it?" Turner said.
Hummingbird food should not be artificially dyed red, Yutzy said. The dye is not good for the birds, he said. And the water should be hot when mixed. Feeders should be cleaned every few days during the summer and once a week during the winter, he said.
If the birds stop feeding in winter, people should empty the feed containers so mold doesn't grow in them, Yutzy said.
A myth about hummingbirds is that they stop feeding in winter, Yutzy said. As long as food is available they will continue to eat from feeders. Providing food to hummingbirds also does not prevent them from migrating, he said.
But the birds are more attracted to manzanita when the plants begin to bloom — like they have been the past few months.
"They almost totally abandon feeders when there's a lot of manzanita blossoms around," Yutzy said.
In the summer Yutzy and his wife Carol will put out as many as 13 feeders, including several that hold 96 ounces of drink. They have had as many as 58 hummingbirds feeding at once.
In addition to nectar and manmade food, hummingbirds also eat insects such as aphids, mites and tiny spiders, Yutzy said.
The Turners have recognized rufous and Anna's hummingbirds at their home. They also have other feeders that attract a wide variety of birds, but it's the hummingbirds they like to watch most.
"They'll come in and look at you just like this," Turner said, holding the palm of his hand close to his face. "They really have their own personality."
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