A labor of love
Many people, including this writer, enjoy watching the hummingbirds that visit their nectar feeders each summer. Ruby-throated hummingbirds, their iridescent feathers shining in the sun, buzz in and out to get a sip of energy-rich sugar water. A few dedicated birders carry the feeding to extremes that are hard to imagine unless you see it for yourself.
Mark Nale Afield
One such pair of dedicated hummingbird caretakers is Jan and John Reed of Coburn. The Reeds have 25 nectar feeders hanging around their lodge along Penns Creek, most of them concentrated on their spacious front porch. They also have numerous hummingbird-attracting flowers, such as bee-balm, planted on their property.
During the peak of migration, the Reed’s porch will have more traffic than a truck stop on Interstate 80. While my family measures its homemade hummingbird nectar by the cup and has a few hummingbirds visiting our humble feeders, the Reeds have HUMMINGBIRDS — hundreds of them — and they mix their nectar by the gallon.
Based on the number of gallons of sugar water that the Reeds are now preparing this month, naturalist and hummingbird bander Scott Weidensaul estimates that they are feeding up to 1,000 hummingbirds a day
— a lot of hummingbirds in any-one’s book. According to Weidensaul, the peak of hummer migration occurs in mid-August, and the Reeds are experiencing that right now.
The Reed’s relationship with hummingbirds began when John Reed moved into a trailer on his Penns Creek land in 1969. That is when he saw his first hummingbird on the property. He bought one feeder and started feeding hummers the following week. He built Reed’s Ranch, a hunting and fishing lodge, on the site and moved in during 1986. The Reeds were married in 1990.
“We got married on Penns View, the mountain that we can see from our lodge. It was a camouflage wedding — two hunters getting married,” Jan said with a laugh. Apart from enjoying their hummingbirds and tending to the needs of people staying at their lodge, the Reeds spend a lot of time fishing — particularly on Sayers Dam at Bald Eagle State Park.
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According to Jan, they are currently feeding the hummingbirds approximately two gallons of nectar per day. The Reeds mix sugar and water at a ratio of 4-to-1 —that is one cup of sugar for every four cups of boiling water. They do not use food coloring in their homemade nectar. Jan says that the artificial coloring is harmful to the birds and it certainly is not necessary to attract hummingbirds.
Cleanliness is also important when feeding hummingbirds. The Reeds meticulously wash and sterilize their glass and plastic feeders before each filling. Almost all of their feeders were the same brand and style — an hourglass-shaped glass bottle, having a red plastic bottom and four yellow feeding stations. John said that they tried plastic feeders, but roaming bears would chew them open to get at the sugar water. According to John, bears do not seem to bother the glass feeders. They had tried other feeder types and their current model seems to work the best.
Jan shared some of the records that they keep on a calendar each year. In 2002, they mixed 56 gallons of nectar, and by 2006, that more than tripled to 175 gallons.
“That was our big year,” Jan said. “We used 306 pounds of sugar.”
Hummingbird numbers seemed to be down in 2007, and the Reeds used “only” 230 pounds of sugar to mix 158 gallons of nectar. In 2008, they used 208 pounds of sugar to make 142 gallons of nectar.
“Right now, we are on course to break last year’s total,” Jan said. “So far, we have mixed 129 gallons of nectar, and we are on our seventh 25-pound bag of sugar.” Based on their records, the Reeds have about five more weeks of hummingbird feeding. They usually see their last hummingbird of the year around Sept. 21 — the final day of summer.
Weidensaul rated the Reed’s Ranch as “one of the largest concentrations of hummingbirds in the east.”
How does one family attract so many hummers? I asked Weidensaul what makes Reed’s Ranch so popular with hummingbirds.
“All of the places that I am familiar with, that hold large concentrations of ruby-throated hummingbirds, are in stream valleys surrounded by forests with clearings,” he said. “This is important, since 60 percent of a hummingbird’s diet is insects. The other important factor is having lots of feeders for a long time, and the Reeds certainly have that.”
Although it takes money, effort and a commitment of time, John and Jan enjoy their favorite summer pastime. The Reeds love feeding the hummingbirds and sharing their pleasure with others. Aside from the avian traffic, their porch sees a lot of human traffic, too. The Reeds openly welcome neighbors, friends and other bird lovers onto their homey porch. They have also opened their property to several hummingbird banders, including Weidensaul.
I shared the better part of a day with the Reeds, and you could not find a friendlier or more welcoming couple. I am hoping to spend more time at the Reed’s Ranch later this month.
“It is interesting and we just enjoy it,” Jan shared. “We just love sitting on the porch and watching the birds.”
