Attracting & Feeding Hummingbirds

Watching Wildlife in Your Backyard - Hummers. It's time for the hummingbirds to migrate. They've already disappeared in droves from my backyard, having spent the last few weeks fighting and battling it out at the nectar feeders to ready themselves for their long journey. Right now I am all about hummingbirds, so will probably be writing a bit on feeding the little guys and general information.

Hummingbird Feeder Care/Cleaning

Your hummingbird feeders must be cleaned frequently and nectar solutions changed ever 3-4 days. In hotter weather this must be done more often. The sugar water used in hummingbird feeders can spoil quickly and harbor fungus, mold and bacterial which is harmful to the birds. If black spots appear in or on your hummingbird feeder, take it down and clean promptly. The black is a mold.Scrub your feeders inside and out with a good bottle brush.You may use a light bleach solution with water and shake the feeder to remove the mold, but take care of any red parts on the feeder. Bleach can fade them. Rinse out the bleach well! Then rinse again just in case!

* Do not use bleach on hummingbird feeders that are colored, only on the clear reservoir. Instead, warm soapy water may be used.
* If you do not wish to use bleach, try using grains of uncooked rice BBs or fine sand as tiny abrasive scrubbers. Use a funnel to add about 1/4 cup of rice, sand or BBs to the feeder, fill the rest with water and shake.
* A cotton swab is can be used to clean out the hummingbird feeder ports.

When you plant flowers in the garden to attract them, look for tube shaped flower blossoms. Butterfly bush is perfect, as are salvias. These plants will grow well in most parts of the United States and are a great addition to a backyard habitat garden. Always consider native plants first!
Nectar feeders are also made for Oriole Bird Feeders.

Hummingbird Nectar Recipe

You can buy pre-mixed nectar solutions to put in your hummingbird feeders, or you can mix your own. The recipe is simple:

4 parts water
1 part sugar
or:
1 cup water
1/4 cup sugar

Put the water and sugar in a saucepan, and over low heat, bring to a gentle boil. Let boil for about two minutes and remove from heat and allow to cool completely.

That's it. Usually we make a larger batch at one time and store extra in the refrigerator, but only as much as we can use in a week. Hummingbird nectar has a short life span and does not stay good for long!

* Do not use honey or artificial sweeteners in your hummingbird recipe! Honey ferments quickly and is bad for the little guys.

* Red dye is not necessary. We won't get into the whole red dye or no red dye controversy since there is not adequate testing on if it is good or bad for hummers, but since there is a chance it may be bad, we don't use it. Hummingbirds will not be more attracted to nectar that is colored red. Just use a feeder with some red color on it or tie a red ribbon below your feeder.

* Change your hummingbird nectar in your feeders about every three days as the sugar water goes bad quickly. Clean feeders each time you change the nectar, and keep the feeders out of the direct sun to keep the solution fresh longer. This also helps your feeder parts from fading in the sun.

* Bee balm Monarda didyma
* Butterfly weed Ascelpias tuberosa
* Cardinal flower Lobelia cardinalis
* Columbine Aquilegia sp.
* Coral bells Heuchera sanguinea
* Cosmos Cosmos sp.
* Dahlia Dahlia sp.
* Delphinium Delphinium elatum
* Flame acanthus Acanthus mollis
* Flowering tobacco Nicotiana alata
* Four-o'-clock Mirabilis jalapa
* Foxglove Digitalis purpurea (Biennial)
* Fuchsia Fuschia hybrida
* Geranium Pelargonium species
* Hollyhock Althea rosea (biennial)
* Lupine Lupinus hybrids
* Monkeyflower Mimulus hybridus
* Mountain garland Clarkia elegans
* Nasturtium Tropaeolum majus
* Penstemon Penstemon sp.
* Petunia Petunia hybrida
* Red hot poker Kniphofia uvaria
* Sage Salvia officinalis
* Scarlet sage Salvia splendens
* Speedwell Veronica hybrids
* Spider flower Cleome hasslerana
* Touch-me-not Impatiens sp.
* Verbena Verbena sp.
* Zinnia Zinnia

1. Allen's Hummingbird, Selasphorus sasin
2. Anna's Hummingbird, Calypte anna (formerly Archilochus anna)
3. Berylline Hummingbird, Amazilia beryllina
4. Black-chinned Hummingbird, Archilochus alexandri
5. Blue-throated Hummingbird, Lampornis clemenciae
6. Broad-billed Hummingbird, Cynanthus latirostris
7. Broad-tailed Hummingbird, Selasphorus platycercus
8. Buff-bellied Hummingbird, Amazilia yucatanensis
9. Calliope Hummingbird, Stellula calliope
10. Costa's Hummingbird, Calypte costae
11. Crowned Woodnymph, Thalurania ridgwayi
12. Lucifer Hummingbird, Calothorax lucifer
13. Magnificent (Rivoli's) Hummingbird, Eugenes fulgens
14. Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Archilochus colubris
15. Rufous Hummingbird, Selasphorus rufus
16. Violet-crowned Hummingbird, Amazilia violiceps
17. White-eared Hummingbird, Hylocharis lucotis

You can shop, buy or just browse for the best in backyard birding products. If you want the highly decorative hummingbird feeder, this is the place to visit. Hanging glass feeders decorated in beads and pretty wire along with some very different glass bowls for butterflies. Visit them just to see the pretty items.

Not catering to hummers, but still worth a visit if you like backyard birds. We love the ground tray feeders they carry, including some decorative statues.

Hummers love water and will fly through garden fountains, so adding one to a flower bed is worth it. While they won't really get into a bath, watching them play in fountain spray is well worth the effort!