Passport to Texas

Passport to Texas from Texas Parks and Wildlife

If you’ve never seen a hummingbird in your part of Texas, it’s not because they aren’t around.

There’s not a county in Texas where you won’t see at least two species of hummingbird. In fact, there’s not a state in the United States—with the exception of Hawaii—that doesn’t have at least two hummingbird species.

Okay, maybe that is not a lot of hummers, but they are out there. Mark Klym coordinates the Texas hummingbird Roundup. He says Texas has 18 species of hummingbirds, and one region boasts the most.

Certainly the greatest variety would be in the David Mountains area. The David Mountains and the Chisos Mountains—out in West Texas.

If you want to attract hummingbirds passing through the area, you could put up feeders, but Klym says there is a better way.

That feeder, even in a good garden, is nothing more than a fast food stop. You want to provide plants that these birds can go to for nectar. But also, you want to provide plants that will attract insects, because these birds are heavy insect eaters.

At passporttotexas.org, find links to hummingbird appropriate plants, as well as information on how you can participate in the Hummingbird Roundup.

That’s our show… For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.
____________________________________________________

Find the top hummingbird plants as recommended by About.com: http://birding.about.com/library/weekly/aa053001a.htm

Hummingbirds in Texas Play Now | Play in Popup | Download