A Richmond bird lover has discovered a novel way to feed her favourite hummingbirds during the frigid winter weather.
Worried when last week’s plunging temperatures froze the hummingbird feeders in her backyard, Susie Ang took to the Internet to solve the problem.
After bubble wrap failed to insulate the syrup solution in her garden – close to Blundell and Garden City roads – Ang followed a tip to wrap the feeders with Christmas lights.
And she was delighted when she came home from work during last week’s snowstorms to see her DIY heater plan had worked, with several hummingbirds buzzing around her stand.
“I was amazed; I was so happy that I had some little tears in my eyes,” laughed Ang, who has gotten to know two of the birds really well.
“I was concerned, because I noticed they were waiting over by the fence when it was frozen.
“There is a little heat coming from (the lights). The birds were actually hanging around the lights for heat as well last week.”
Pointing to her regular visitor up on a tree close by, Ang said the little bird, thought to be of the Anna’s variety, is “kind of like my pet now.”
“He’s here all the time, with a mate, I think. He knows who I am. He comes right up, face to face almost.”
She’s now busy spreading the word on social media to all bird lovers in the city and beyond that the Christmas lights plan works.
