How To Feed & Attract Hummingbirds
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Why are these little birds so popular? There’s something so charming about washing your dishes at the kitchen sink or sitting at a table and looking out the window to see a hummingbird a few inches away from you, hovering and feeding from a hanging flower basket or feeder. They are the very small (just 3″ – 5″) and can fly backwards too! If you have a few regularly visit your yard, you can’t help but feel lucky.
They are spotted in the southern U.S. as early as March as they migrate north. You can follow their movement each year by watching the the map here.
If you’re way down south, the first half of March is normally when you want to get your feeders up so you can attract them to your yard, the rest of us will be a little later (I’m looking at May).
Simple Food Formula:
1 part white cane sugar
4 parts water
Store unused syrup in the refrigerator for up to two weeks. This is in optimal recipe since it closely resembles the nectar of many wildflowers.
See this page. A cautionary note:
Please, do not put honey, Jell-O, brown sugar, fruit, or red food coloring in your feeder! Honey ferments rapidly when diluted with water and can kill hummingbirds. The effects of red dye have not been not scientifically tested, and it is not necessary to color the water to attract birds to your feeder. Further, there are unverified reports that red dye can cause tumors in them; this may or may not be true, but why take the chance?
Maintenance:
- Clean feeder each time you refill it by flushing well with hot water–do not use soap. Find more details for cleaning here.
Did you know: They’ll consume up to twice their body weight in nectar every day! They also enjoy supplementing their diet with the little insects and spiders that will be drawn to the sugar solution in the feeder.
DIY Feeder: Here’s a clever project made with a wine bottle, red paint (if bottle isn’t already red), small bowl with a plastic, snap-on lid and heavy gauge wire.
Here’s another project from artsyvava.blogspot.com made with a wine bottle, copper wire and a hummingbird bottle stopper.
Flowers That Attract Them:
If a feeder is too high maintenance for you, try a nice hanging basket of bright red or deep pink fuschia–I’ve been lucky and it’s always worked for me! More plant suggestions are found here.
For beginner gardeners, I’d recommend containers or boxes filled with petunias or Impatiens (or try a mix of both!). I find them pretty low maintenance and hardy.
Good luck this year, I hope these little guys find you and choose to hang around 
.
Thanks for this info. I would have put my feeders out in May, and I just found out that some have been seen nearby already! Cool.
I was so happy to see that you added the information about not using honey or red dye, they don`t need it. I love my hummies in the summer and it makes me so unhappy when people add all the stuff they don`t need, and could hurt them. Thank you for the correct info.
Debbie
Ohh I love Hummingbirds, we get them every year all around our front porch. They are amazing little birds! I need to get my feeders ready!!!
I just love hummingbirds. I was surprised to learn that bats will visit feeders too. We have bats so that may be why my one feeder gets empty quicker than the other. Thanks for the great information.
Californians need feeders up year ’round. An Allen’s hummingbird nest outside our kitchen window Christmas week and had a brood out of the nest by February. Another hummer moved into the vacated nest and is raising another pair just out of pinfeathers.
Hummingbirds love Morning Glorys too! They are very easy to grow.
Well, last year I had 3 winter over in the Seattle WA area. Have never seen it before so left feeders up, when it froze brought them in at night and took them out early. Must have lost one as this jan, I only saw 2. As of March, I have 6. Amazed me and they are going through the syrup daily. Usually I replace it every few days depending on weather but find I must refill at least every other day. Well, this fall, I will keep the feeders up, just in case. I so worry when it freezes.
Make sure there aren’t any spider webs around the feeder that they can get caught in! (The lil’ thing did manage to get free but unfortunately landed on the ground where the cat was
Has any one heard of putting out a dish of sugar for Himming birds? I was in Aruba and they had a dish on the back of the bar and the little birds where all over it.
I’m not sure if anyone else has had this experience, but we have a big planter of lavender on our balcony and we get constant hummingbird visitors! During this last little cold spell in california, I’ve taken the plant indoors, but the little hummingbirds keep coming back and looking for it. I love my lavender and was pleasantly surprised that I’m not the only one
My husband was in the garden misting the plants on a VERY hot humid day. He started to mist the trees and all of a sudden there were three little humming birdas taking a shower. after about 5 minutes there were about 15. He sat very still and let them get all they wanted. I so wish I had a video camers, but maybe someone else could try and get a show to post. Our water bill went up but it was worth it. What a site.
We have non-stop hummingbird traffic on Cape Cod in the summer, but the Orioles also love the hummingbird feeder so we always have to construct a special attachment on the bottom of the feeder so they have somewhere to land while they are feeding.