Hummingbirds make up a category of tiny birds that include 350 unique species. Hummingbirds vary in size, but all are generally very small. In fact, the smallest bird in the world is the bee hummingbird, measuring only two-and-a-quarter inch long.
Hummingbirds are incredibly agile, and they are the only species that can fly forward, backwards, and hover in place, and they can fly at speeds of up to 60 miles per hour! Here’s how you can attract one of these animals to your yard.
1. Add Nectar-Rich Plants to Your Yard
Hummingbirds commonly enjoy nectar-rich flowers, therefore it’s simple to turn any yard into the ideal hummingbird habitat by planting colorful flowers that will especially entice these flying gems. Native red or orange tubular flowers attract hummingbirds. Native plants, like trumpet honeysuckle, bee balm, and hummingbird sage, provide much more nectar than hybrids and exotics.
The finest hummingbird gardens will have flowers that bloom at various times, ensuring that hummingbirds always have access to a food supply regardless of season. Flowers with vivid red blossoms and a tubular form are most suited for hummingbird pollination in North America. Plants that produce nectar will offer a refuge and attract tiny insects that hummingbirds eat for protein.
2. Put Up Different Feeders
Feeders are an excellent option if you don’t have much space for flowering plants. Of course, feeders provide hummingbirds with a food source, which is a basic requirement for survival. Your feeders will be simple to find if you hang them in a well-lit location. You may also place red ribbons on your feeders to aid in attracting these small birds for the first time.
There are many different feeder designs, including glass bulbs, inverted tubes, and saucer dishes. Various hummingbirds will exhibit preferences for different feeder designs, and keen birders will observe which feeders others frequent.
Feeders may include wasp, hornet, and ant protections and are frequently painted red to attract hummingbirds. Nectar may be just as enticing to bees and wasps, and hummingbirds might be threatened.
Although you may create your own nectar using only sugar and water, many people choose to buy pre-made nectar out of convenience. But take care not to use commercial nectar that has been colored artificially red. For our friends, this might be detrimental or even fatal.
3. Keep the Bird Feeders Clean
Once you understand how to draw hummingbirds, it is important to be responsible with the feeders. They should be kept tidy. Every few days, hummingbird feeders should be cleaned, and all the feeding ports should be checked to make sure they are unobstructed and clear. With one part white vinegar to four parts water, you may clean the feeder as needed.
The sugar water in the feeders can ferment if it is too hot and in direct sunlight. You can prevent this by hanging feeders in the shade. Replace the nectar right away and clean the feeder if the mixture begins to look hazy or moldy. Multiple port saucer-shaped feeders are a popular design because they are easy to clean.
Keeping a hummingbird’s potential habitat clean (just as you would for a pet bird) can keep them coming again and again.
4. Space Out Your Feeders and Flowers
While goldfinches and certain other songbirds may eat in harmony, hummingbirds frequently engage in fighting and chase one another away from feeders. Hummingbirds have an impulse to guard their food sources even when they are at feeders with a limitless supply.
Put up a few feeders that are not visible from one another. Hummingbirds have more room to feed if you place many feeders throughout your yard. If a hummingbird can’t see all the feeders at once, not even the toughest little bird can monopolize them. Males are very territorial, so try to keep them at least 15 feet apart.
5. Don’t Forget to Offer Water!
While some birds won’t come to feeders, all birds are drawn to water. Some people mistakenly think that nectar is a supply of water, but it’s not. Hummingbirds require water just like every other living thing does.
Sprinklers, fountains, waterfalls, misters, and drippers are among the flowing water features that hummingbirds enjoy. Hummingbirds can drink and take a bath while flying, and they frequently rest in a shower of water or fly through it to cool down or take a bath.
Hummingbirds will flit through the sunny mist of a garden hose mister or a solar-powered misting birdbath, bringing life to your landscape. Although they may hover on the birdbath’s rim, smaller hummingbirds do not benefit from deeper water sources like standard birdbaths.
Get a Hummingbird to Feed from Your Hand
It’s thrilling to try to get a hummingbird to land on your hand. Sit close to your feeder and remain still so the birds will understand you pose no threat. Wearing the same outfits can assist as you repeat this numerous times each day for a few days! Every day bring yourself a bit closer until you are sitting directly next to the feeder. You can try holding the feeder or cupping your hand to serve as a perch below the feeding ports after the bird is at ease with you being close by.
It may take many weeks, but if you are persistent and patient, you will eventually get to see the gorgeous hummingbird up close. You can purchase hand-held hummingbird feeders online to watch the little birds eat from your hand!
