May 1st is the day of a wonderful, but often overlooked holiday. One where many of us leave little containers full sweets for others to enjoy endlessly at their will. Many don’t really consider it to be a holiday, after all it isn’t technically an official holiday. Of course, this glorious day we’re talking about is Hummingbird Day. Hummingbird Day is the wonderful day where we put our hummingbird feeders out again, after the long months of winter where our little friends live quietly in Mexico. People fill hummingbird feeders generally with homemade nectar which contains one part water and four parts sugar. Back to my point, Hummingbird Day is a wonderful day that deserves more recognition. While they’re not the most majestic birds around, hummingbirds truly are amazing little creatures that are a great joy to watch. Ruby-throated hummingbirds (Iowa’s only native hummingbird) can flap their wings roughly 50 times per second, while other kinds of hummingbirds can flap their wings up to 90 times per second. It’s not just that hummingbirds are a joy to watch, hummingbirds can also benefit the plants and flower around your house. After all, with their incredibly long “snout”, hummingbirds can pollinate flowers that are other birds are not able to. Hummingbirds, contrary to popular belief, eat insects and other small bugs. One of which is among of the absolute worst things that exist on the face of this earth (besides spiders, which hummingbirds also eat, depending on their size). Mosquitoes. Hummingbirds provide some the greatest pest control on the face of the planet, due to their taste for mosquitoes.. Of course, hummingbirds prefer good nectar to some mosquitoes. While most recognize May 1st as May Day, Hummingbird Day is something that deserves more recognition. As I’ve said before, hummingbirds are wonderful birds and anyone who has ever seen one would agree with that. If not, they’re lying.