Hummingbirds

[Kitten]

Do any of you put out feeders to attract hummingbirds? We have several and it's amazing just how many of those gorgeous little birds have shown up over the years. It makes the whole area feel full of life.

[tater03]

I have not gotten one yet. This is one of those things that I would like to get but never seem to get around to getting one. I love to watch hummingbirds.

[riskey58]

I have b put feeders out for the humming birds. But I never seem to get any. I can't figure out why.

[Mickie31]

Unfortunately we don't get them here they must be lovely to look at. If we could get hummingbirds then yes surely I would put some food out for them to attract them to my garden because I think they are beautiful birds.

[petunia]

They are so much fun to watch. I have a list of tips on my website on how to attract them as well as butterflies and other beautiful song birds. Hope you visit!
http://www.beautifulblooms.org

[riskey58]

Thank you I will check the site out. I need all the help I can get. Because so far I have had no luck.

[mom2manyboyz]

I have a feeder, but it has remained empty for many years. It was a gift. What do you put in the feeder?

[lovemyabba]

You can buy mix for hummingbird food at just about any store, or just mix up some sugar water and put it in your feeder. I think the mix is basically sugar with red food coloring, anyway. They just want something sweet.

[Kitten]

Just make it yourself! It doesn't even need to be red....they'll be attracted anyway, so no worries about that. Look up a recipe for the exact proportions of sugar and water.

[riskey58]

I will check around for a recipe. Maybe that will help attract them. I have not had much luck attracting them.

[atula]

Here even without feeders we get lot of humming birds and they are just so beautiful....also there are those small sun birds...I love watching how they suck nectr from the flowers using there tiny beeks...have photgraphed several ....will see if i can attach for you people to see.....

[amanda143]

We have more than 10 varieties here in Texas but the ones I see most often at my feeders are ruby throated and black chinned. I make my own juice which is usually a ration of 4:1. 4 cups water to 1 cup sugar. Boil it up, let it cool completely and them pour in your feeders. Make sure to change it every few days and wash out the feeders well otherwise mold will grow and harm the birds. The bird in this picture is a female. They aren't as pretty as the males but they are beautiful none the less.

http://api.photoshop.com/home_fc9295c4f923412883507a69b11f5ccf/adobe-px-assets/5d9ea1c9d0be44e6be3309125b4c4879

[Pandion_Haliaetus]

To attract hummingbirds to your yard to breed each summer you must contain a couple elements which they require to see your yard as suitable habitat.
1. To first attract hummers to your yard, offer nectar early in season.
Hummingbirds migrate early, I saw my first ruby-throated here in South Jersey on 4/20/08. Luckily I had feeders already out.
2. Suitable nesting habitat. In backyards hummers like to nest in woody thickets or dense shrubs. I have a huge lilac thicket next to my driveway and house, and some other thickets near by. Normally they breed in mixed woodlands and deciduous forests, gardens, and orchards.
3. Hummingbirds are not picky about the color of feeders, but more about the location of where you put your feeders. Chose an area close to these thickets, or in a small tree so the birds have a place to perch in between feedings. Also, try not to have your feeder hanging out in the sunlight all day, it accelerates the decay of the nectar-water in the feeders.
4. One last thing that isn't as important, but make one feeders nectar less sweet than the others. This makes it possible for weaker birds to feed since the males usually defend the best nectar sources.

Hope this helps.

Ben

Click here (http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/Ruby-throated_Hummingbird_dtl.html#habitat) for a link to a page with more information about the Ruby-throated hummingbird.

[Chris]

I've been noticing a tiny one enjoying my impatiens.

[cgiglio]

Hi,

I live in zone 6, NY state and have hummingbirds visit my feeder several times a day. I have a feeder that is attached to my bay window with suction cups. I fill it with store bought hummingbird food a few times a week and I can see them up really close.

I think if you are seeing them in your garden already, you'd have good luck getting them to visit a feeder. You can hang one near the plants they are visiting and one closer to the house to see them better. Once they visit, they'll be back every year. I usually put my feeder out May 1st and leave it until the 1st frost.

[garden-gal]

Watching hummingbirds is so much fun. I like to keep feeders by my windows so I can watch them all day long.

You should never use honey or food coloring in your hummingbird feeders because it is not good for the hummingbirds. You can make your own hummingbird food by mixing 4 parts water to 1 part sugar. Bring the mixture to a boil then cool completely. You can store your extra food in the refrigerator but bring to room temperature before feeding it to the hummingbirds.

Hummingbirds also love fruit flies and other small flying insects. I will take old fruit and place it outside. When the fruit flies arrive to get at the ripe fruit the hummingbirds also come in and feed on the fruit flies.

[amanda143]

Watching hummingbirds is so much fun. I like to keep feeders by my windows so I can watch them all day long.

You should never use honey or food coloring in your hummingbird feeders because it is not good for the hummingbirds. You can make your own hummingbird food by mixing 4 parts water to 1 part sugar. Bring the mixture to a boil then cool completely. You can store your extra food in the refrigerator but bring to room temperature before feeding it to the hummingbirds.

Hummingbirds also love fruit flies and other small flying insects. I will take old fruit and place it outside. When the fruit flies arrive to get at the ripe fruit the hummingbirds also come in and feed on the fruit flies.Thanks for the tip on the fruit flies! now I know what to do with my old fruit and make the birdies happy! :D

[cynthia37]

I recently visited a bird store and asked them why i have HB feeders out and do not seem to attract any.He said the red dye food the sell in stores is bad for the HB's. He gave my a recipe for sugar water 1 part sugar to 4 parts water, now i have 5 to 6 hummingbirds and they are beautiful.

[cs4jws]

I just put out a hummingbird feeder last summer, and had an amazing experience. We had at least 2 Ruby throated males, and 3 Ruby throated females visit.

They were SO much fun to watch...and sometimes, they were just as curious about us as we were about them. We would be sitting in the garage, far away from the feeder, and they would buzz over to about 2 feet from our face...look at us...and then buzz away!

I can't wait for them to come back this summer!

In regards to food, I have heard that the clear hummingbird feed is better for them then the red feed. I have only used the red feed in the past, using both the kind that you mix up, and the kind that is already made...the kind that you mix up seemed to be eaten much more quickly than the premade liquid. Next summer I will be using the clear feed.

~Cat

[cs4jws]

Patience, that variety of hummingbird sounds so pretty. I will try and find some pictures to see what you are talking about. Up here, in Northern Minnesota, we pretty much ONLY get the ruby throated hummingbirds, so we don't see a large variety....but we will take what we can get...LOL

Have a good day!

~Cat

[RootRot]

Hummers will return over and over year after year once they find the feeder. I've even had them come the FOLLOWING year looking for the feeder that wasn't out yet. If your patient you can train them to be hand fed. ( I'm not that patient).
I just get the Ruby Throated here and mostly females but they are a fun and brave little bird.

http://i402.photobucket.com/albums/pp102/planter_01/P1050252.jpg

http://i402.photobucket.com/albums/pp102/planter_01/P1050259.jpg

[DaveB]

Hummingbirds were regular visitors to our sugar feeders - being fromthe UK I never really got over my excitement when they showed up - magnificent :)

Dave.

[beautiful gardener]

just use 1 cup sugar 4 cups water in a feeder

[Alfredo]

Usually it doesn't make much of a difference, but sometimes real flowers bring out the hummingbirds a little bit better than plastic feeders. If you want to use real flowers I would recommend planting bright colored flowers that produce a lot of nectar. Scarlet creeper and trumpet honeysuckle are great flowers for attracting hummingbirds.

[davidbkeegan]

If you want to plant flowers to attracts hummingbirds, your best bet is to go for trumpet or tubular flowers

[willsot_20]

I like birds so much
i don't like to put these in cage

[nofeargardener]

Beautiful pics. Thanks for sharing them on the forums! I've not seen any hummingbirds here by our house. But we do get a fair share of blue jays, cardinals, and robins....BIG FAT robins.

One year, there was a baby robin on our lawn that had fallen out of the nest. We didn't see a mama anywhere. My wife walked up to it to help it out and it started chirping like crazy. Then, out of no where...SWOOOOSH! That mama came down and was gonna open up a can on my wife. WOW! It was hard for me not to laugh. My wife didn't think it was too funny though! :D

thanks again for sharing. :D

[inchworm5]

Funny story on mama Robin, we had a plastic hummingbird feeder at our old house just outside the kitchen window. We got to see tons of hummingbirds and the feeder was red but did not have any flower shape so really I am surprised they stopped, maybe because it was a red color. Well I am excited to start attracting hummingbirds once again, I think I will try to plant flowers that would naturally attract the birds, I feel it would be better to see them in a natural environment. Thanks for the beautiful pics RootRot!

[TNplants1]

Let me share with you the best hummingbird feeder in the world. The Hummingbird Vine (Campsis Radicans). We grow these and sell to a large mail order perennial plant (https://www.*********.net/perennial-plants/)company in Michigan (sure you kow them- they buy from us for .68 cents and sell for 12.99). I planted a few of these little witch's fingers (what we'd call them as children) around my back porch just to see what the fuss was about with us selling over 50,000 a year to this company. now i see! Hummingbirds have fights over these plant's blooms. They have a deep center see this pic of a hummingbird vine (http://www.*********.net/hummingbird-vine/) and you will see why they love them. The depth is perfect for their little beaks to enjoy fresh nectar from.

[GhettoGardener]

Yes, hummingbirds are nice and all... But not when they're dive-bombing on you while you're trying to work on your garden. They're like little kamikaze planes ready to poke my eyes out. So rather than fighting back, I run back into my house screaming and the little buggers fly right up to my window as if to taunt me and make fun of me. I bet they're just laughing their little butts off when they send me into the house.:(

[PinkPADIgal]

My mother has had dozens, every year. She has 6 feeders and fills them almost every day. In the evening, it is fun to watch them. It is almost like a war zone on her deck!

Do not use food coloring. Her receipt is 4 parts water, 1 part sugar. Boil the water, then add sugar. Once it is well dissolved, it cool for about an hour, then fill the feeders.

I have several feeders out with ribbon to attract them. I get 1-2 a week. I am not sure why but my neighbor who has had an incredible flower garden for years never gets them either. Lots of other birds, bees and wasps instead.

[AdamBorzy]

Better plant colorful flowers to attract hummingbirds because they don’t have sense of smell.
To name few flowers that they are attracted to: coral bells, daylily, lily, petunia and larkspur.