How to Attract Hummingbirds to your Yard
Spring birding means the hummingbirds and orioles are just around the corner. Literally. So now it's time for you to go to your garage and dig out last years hummingbird and oriole feeders and clean them up to put out very soon. We usually tell people to put their feeders out around April 15th to catch the early arrivals!! If you have never seen hummingbirds in your yard and this will be your first time trying, just be patient as it takes a bit And a lot of patience to "attract" your first ones. The good news is, that usually once you attract that first "one" he/she will likely be back next year and every year after that, as they are prone to nest in the same yards year after year. The hard work comes in trying to attract them that first year. So I have compiled a list of things you can do to give yourselves the best chance at attracting hummers this year.
1. Start early! April 15th! You don't have to fill those feeders FULL of nectar but put at least a quarter of what it would take to fill the feeder at first. That way you won't feel like you are wasting so much nectar if they don't come!
2. Display as much Red as possible; such as red flowers and red feeders! Your nectar does not have to be red if parts of your feeder or flowers are red! Also red is definitely not the only color they are attracted to! They love ALL of the bright colors like Pink, Purple, Blue and Green! (Did you know that hummingbirds prefer red because they have determined that the red flowers fill back up with nectar Faster than flowers of other colors)
3. Hang bright red ribbons on your feeders, bushes and trees or zip tie a bouquet of flowers to your shepherd's hook to lure them to your feeders. I personally love hanging a Fuschia plant near my hummingbird feeders! I love watching them go from Flower to Feeder back and forth.
4. Hang multiple feeders to attract more hummingbirds and create distance between feeders to establish more territories! So that your one dominant hummer doesn't Hog all the nectar. He can't hog it all if he can't see them all!! Hummingbirds often fight other Hummingbirds off the feeders due to lack of food. This is why I hang at least 3 feeders in my yard.
5. Change nectar often! To be safe as it gets warmer change nectar every 5 days and in the cooler temps you can wait 5-8 days. Especially if your feeder is in the shade. The sunlight is a killer of the nectar! You can also add a solution to your nectar called Nectar Defender to extend the life of your nectar by a week! Or add a Weather Guard to your feeder to shield it from the sun!
6. Deter ants with an ant moat and use bee resistant feeders such as Dr JB's hummingbird feeder!
Orioles will be arriving the same time as the hummingbirds do, so dust off those feeders, buy some oranges and grape jelly and they will love you!
Happy Birding!
Crinda Williams~For The Wild Birds