Michael Bradshaw from Wild Birds Unlimited talked about hummingbirds with forty-four enthusiastic Kneeling Gardeners at the March meeting.
“They’re on the way! Michael exclaimed. “They’ve been spotted leaving the coastal area with their luggage packed. They should be in our area within the next two weeks.” “They travel in waves,” he told us. “The males come first, then the females, followed by the juveniles born last year.”
He proceeded to share hummingbird facts. Each adult is about the same weight as a penny. Their eggs are the size of a garden pea; the nest the size of a golf ball. They eat every 10 minutes. They can perch and hover but cannot walk. They fly backward and upside down. Our biggest mistake in attracting them to our feeders, he said, is that we do not change the nectar in the feeders often enough. In the summer heat, it must be changed every 2 to 3 days. Once it goes bad, the birds abandon the feeder.
After the Q&A was a drawing for a hummingbird feeder, won by Rachel Edmiston.
Club president Janet Smith presented a request from the Cabarrus County Food Policy Council for Kneeling Gardeners to maintain one of the raised beds at the Demo Garden at the Library. Correspondence from the Salvation Army expressed appreciation for bell ringers at Christmas. Gail Puntch was acknowledged for her work as Hospitality Coordinator for the club. Refreshments were prepared by Kathy Cornell, Bonnie Kadela, Jean Kadela, Gail Puntch, Frank and Rosa Winfree, Faye Owens and Mildred Turner.
There will not be an April meeting, but members will be preparing for the May 4 plant sale at Trinity United Methodist Church in Kannapolis. For information about donating plants, contact Earl Gray at 704-933-4476. Proceeds go to community charitable needs. Anyone interested in gardening is welcome to attend; information is available at 704-933-1127.