Friday, March 21, 2008

The Hummer Helper

All right retailers, file this under "What won't they think of next?"

Don't panic, that's not a confused hummingbird trying to get nectar out of some fluff in the above photo. That is The Hummer Helper from Songbird Essentials that allows customers a chance to offer nesting material to hummingbirds.

It all started with the folks at The Hummer House, a cabin retreat many people visit in Christoval, TX in order to watch hundreds of hummingbirds. Hummer House brought the idea to Songbird Essentials and encouraged them to market the product in a manner that makes it easy for people to encourage hummingbirds to nest. As a matter of fact, all the photos in this entry were taken by Linda Gardner at The Hummer House.

Here is a photo of a hummingbird nest, the inside lined with the natural fibers of The Hummer Helper.

Part of what makes this packaging successful with hummingbirds is the red sandwich holder for the nesting material. Hummingbirds are attracted by the color red and the flat holder allows the nesting material to dry quickly after a heavy rain.

And don't worry, if you don't have a lot of hummingbirds, other species will use this as well including goldfinches, orioles, waxwings, and chickadees.

5 comments:

Beverly said...

What a GREAT idea! I found out about Hummer Helper on BirdChick's blog...

Thanks so much; mine (plus a re-fill) is on the way!

NW Nature Nut said...

I work for a bird shop and we are selling them well. Everyone wants to do things to help hummers. And we do get them from Goldcrest.

birdchick said...

Glad to know they are selling well! Is anyone else trying them out there?

Beverly said...

Yes, I am! Mine arrived a couple days ago...what a cool idea! I've already got it hung outside, in case the little buggers arrive when I'm not looking.

When I ordered mine, I ordered a re-fill as well (and probably saved a bunch on shipping! LOL)

The Hummer Helper is a well-made little thing; colorful and lightweight, too. I've got new feeders and cleaned the old ones (including a dip in bleach-water)...I'm ready for the little winged wonders!

Thanks again...you are a great resource; I never would have found 'em!

Beverly said...

Just an update... I've been watching hummingbirds in my yard for several weeks now, and lately am regularly see them flit about with a beak-full of white fluff from the Hummer Helper. I like the fact that I'm helping in a clean, green way.

It is kinda funny though, to see them with a mouthfull, hovering over a feeder; you can imagine they're wishing they could transfer the nesting material to a hand, so they could take a sip while passing by.