I’ve been running a poll on this blog and on our Facebook page, asking why people plant trees. To go along with it, I started a post this morning listing the benefits of trees. Well, the list just kept growing and growing and growing so I haven’t gotten it finished just yet.
In the meantime, I wanted to share one of the main reasons I love trees – they attract hummingbirds!
People sometimes ask me how they can attract hummingbirds to their property and I often mention that they should plant a tree. Yes, hummingbirds are attracted to certain tree species that have nectar flowers, but they also love having trees that provide them with a place that they can sit and keep an eye on their “domain”. Hummingbirds are very territorial and they love to sit in a tree and overlook the other hummingbird plants in your garden or the feeders that you place out for them. As soon as they see a rival hummingbird appear, they will immediately swoop down and chase them away, and then return to their perch in the tree.
They also eat gnats and other small insects that fly around trees and certain species have been known to eat sap that oozes from holes created in trees by woodpeckers and sapsuckers. Hummingbirds also typically nest in trees.
The first time I saw a hummingbird sitting in one of our oak trees, I was in complete awe. And I have to admit that I spent a good part of that summer moving a ten foot ladder around my yard and taking thousands of photos of those little guys.
So, the number one reason that I will ALWAYS recommend that people plant trees is, hummingbirds love them!
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