After a long winter (quite possibly the longest ever??) something is happening that I genuinely look forward to every year...The gradual reclaiming of our veranda.

When we moved back to Muskoka fifteen years ago, one of the things that sold me on our house was the big, beautiful veranda spanning the entire length of the front of it. I knew immediately what it would become: an outdoor living room, basically. Comfy chairs, a table for dining, a place to just *be* outside. It is, without question, my favourite part of our house, which is maybe a little funny, given that it's unusable for a solid five months of the year. But to be honest? That might be exactly why I love it so much. When we are finally able to drag the furniture back out in spring and move our lives outside again, it feels like a celebration.

Hummingbird hanging out in a Muskoka Tree. Photo by: Mary Schankula

It's also where we first made friends with the hummingbirds. Or, at least we tried.

Shortly after moving in, I bought two bird feeders...one for seed, and one specifically for hummingbirds. I had never had a hummingbird feeder before, so I was excited to see it in action. I mixed up the standard solution (one part sugar, four parts water), hung it up, and waited. And waited.

They never came.

I wondered if the feeder wasn't colourful enough to attract them. My mom used to add red food colouring to her solution, so I tried that too. Still nothing. What I *did* get was ants. Lots and lots of ants. Not at all what I had in mind.

A Hummingbird feeding frenzy at the feeder.

I also read that the nectar needs to be changed every few days to keep it safe, as sugar water can ferment quickly. Especially in warm weather, it can become a breeding ground for mold and bacteria that can cause serious infections in hummingbirds. So I was dutifully washing and refilling a feeder that no one (except for the ants) was visiting. Eventually I gave up, washed it one last time, and tucked it away in the basement. I didn't get rid of it, though. Some stubborn little part of me held on...but it sat in the basement, mostly forgotten, for years.

Side note on the red food colouring: turns out my mom and I were both wrong about that one. There's no benefit to adding red dye, and there's a potential risk of harm to the birds. The nectar itself is best kept plain.....And the birds are smart enough to find feeders even when they aren't brightly coloured. Well, eventually at least

Fast forward to last summer. No feeder out, no grand plan... But finally they came!

Ben spotted the first one. He was sitting in what we affectionately call "his office"... a swing chair on the veranda where he works from home most days (the best kind of office, truly). A hummingbird flew right up to his face, hovered there for a few seconds and then zipped away. Not shy at all. Just curious.

A Hummingbird taking flight. Photo by Mary Schankula

He mentioned it to me and I said, "Oh, neat! Maybe someone nearby has a feeder and it came to check things out."

The next day, I was outside and heard this little *bzzzzt* over near where Otto was lying in the sun. A hummingbird was hovering directly in front of my dog's face, doing the same investigative manoeuvre it had tried on Ben the day before. Apparently everyone on the veranda was worth checking out!

I didn't need a third invitation. I went downstairs, dug out the old feeder, gave it a good scrub, mixed up a fresh batch of nectar, and hung it up. The hummingbird found it that same day.

And it kept coming back. All season long.

There's something about watching a hummingbird up close that never gets old. Upon doing a little more research, I've learned that a hummingbird's heart beats up to 1,260 times a minute and its wings flap up to 80 times a second. They are, by any measure, absurd little creatures.....and they seem utterly fearless. Ours continued to regularly hover right in front of our faces, feeder hanging a few feet away, as if stopping to say hello before getting down to business. We looked forward to the daily visits more than I would have expected.

I also earned a new part-time position as a hummingbird chef....mixing up fresh sugar water solution every one to two days in hot weather, and every 3-5 days in cooler weather. And yes, fishing ants out of the ports was also a part of the routine. I take quality control very seriously.

A Ruby-Throated Hummingbird is the predominate species in Ontario.

A few days ago, I put the feeder back out. I'd been watching the migration maps, and for those of us in Ontario, the first spring arrivals typically appear in late April and early May. If you want to track their progress yourself, hummingbirdscanada.ca is a great resource with live sighting maps updated through the season.

I'm also armed with a new accessory this year! For Christmas last year, my family got me a set of mini hummingbird feeders that you wear as rings. An actual ring feeder! I am unreasonably excited about this. If it works the way I'm imagining, I'll have a hummingbird hovering three inches from my hand, and I will absolutely report back.

In the meantime, the veranda furniture is out, the feeder is up, and we're ready!

Tis the season … happy bird watching!