Why are hummingbirds 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 hummingbird feeder.

In the next few weeks hummingbirds will be spotted in the southern U.S. as they migrate north. You can follow the ruby throated hummingbird migration each year by watching the Hummingbird Migration Map. Last year’s map is up atm, but 2007 should be appear soon (ETA: Front page states: Look for the 2007 migration maps near the end of February). If you’re way down south, the first half of March is normally when you want to get your hummingbird feeders up so you can attract them to your yard, the rest of us will be a little later (I’m looking at May).

For a hummingbird feeder recipe, 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 hummingbirds; this may or may not be true, but why take the chance?

The recipe:

1 part white cane sugar
4 parts water

Store unused syrup in refrigerator for up to two weeks.

Clean the hummingbird feeder each time you refill it by flushing well with hot water–do not use soap. Find more details for cleaning the feeder here.

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 for a hummingbird garden: Attracting Hummingbirds. For beginner gardeners, I’d recommend container gardening with petunias or Impatiens (or a mix of both!). I find them pretty low maintenance and hardy.

Good luck this year, I hope the hummingbirds find you and choose to hang around :).

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