Remember Edgar from the movie Men in Black? Gary and I thought of him the other day as we read up on the brew that must be mixed before it is carefully poured into a hummingbird feeder.

“Sugar … in … water” is all he wants.

And so, our first hummingbird carries the name E’gar.

When I chose this particular hand-blown glass hummingbird feeder, it seemed like the decent thing to do. According to the online description:

Blue: Represents resilience and recovery, and is inspired by the bright blue feathers of the bee hummingbird, which has the fastest heartbeat and is currently fighting extinction.

Reading up on The Care and Feeding of a Hummingbird, I quickly learned that although the tiny nervous fellows are attracted to the color red, adding food coloring to their food is not advisible.

The recipe for E’gar’s brew is simple: One cup of water and 1/4 cup of sugar.

Meanwhile, Gary got to work purchasing an outdoor bracket and hanging it between two of our sunroom’s east-facing windows.

Imagine my guilt when I saw a hummingbird repeatedly trying to drink out of our rain gauge!

And so, we brewed up a batch of sugar water, added a red ribbon, and hung the hummingbird feeder up for the first time.

It didn’t take long. Here’s a video of E’gar bellying up to the bar (click on the arrow):

Farmer Gary says we have at least two hummingbirds now. The smaller one, he worries, is getting a beer belly from all those sugary sips.

We can’t help but wonder how the little critters manage to survive from year to year, although they apparently have excellent memories and will return to their favorite feeding spots each spring.

It didn’t take long to find a fitting poem. Mom wrote this 21 years ago, no doubt after gazing contentedly at the nature scene in their woodsy New England backyard:

Amusement Park

A chipmunk rides the berry patch
the bluebirds cardinals call and dazzle
a new woodpecker excavates

Quicksilver squirrels find earth and oak
compatible for speed
a nuthatch hops head first
along a trunk
the hummingbirds sweep in to their sweetwater

~ joan vayo July 14, 2003

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“Amusement Park” © July 14, 2003 Joan Vayo. All rights reserved.

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