Hummingbirds … Attracting The Little Flying Powerhouses

Hummingbirds, what's not to love - their tiny, extremely entertaining and wow can they fly. That's the reason I call them the "Little Flying Powerhouses". Typically they arrive here in Connecticut right around Mother's Day and nine times out of ten I'm not ready for them, well this year was different.

About a week before Mother's Day my husband began mentioning that we needed to get the feeder out and I though "Oh, it's still early" well I decided to go ahead and do it. Needless to say I'm glad I listened because the following day guess what was sitting on the feeder.

The picture at the top of this post is the little guy looking at me through our kitchen window (feels like he's saying "What are you looking at, I'm eating" ha-ha-ha). He's a Ruby-throated Hummingbird which is the most common hummer in our area. The adult males are a bright emerald green color with a ruby-red band around their neck.

Attracting Hummingbirds: Hummers have a good memory they can remember where to find food sources from previous years. However in order for them to remember your home you will first need to let them know about it.There are two ways to accomplish this, first by planting perennials or hanging baskets of flowers that will attract them, second is to have an additional food source such as a hanging feeder that you keep filled with a syrup solution.

Using Nectar Flowers To Attract Hummingbirds - Birds & Blooms

Flowers that have red to orange blossom colors are known to attract them but they will visit any color if they discover sufficient nectar. Blossom shape is also important as this little birds beak is long and tapered, so downward-hanging blossoms – Honeysuckle is a good example – are a favorite.
 

Here are some additional plant that Hummers love:

• Perennials - Lupine, Hollyhock, Forsythia, Columbine and Cardinal Flower. 
• Annuals - Fuchsia, Petunias, Bee Balm, Foxglove and Salvia
• Shrubs - Butterfly Bush, Rose of Sharon
• Vines - Cardinal Vine, Trumpet Vine and Honeysuckle

Hibiscus is another annual flower that these little guys love, I have one on the deck that's got tons of buds so they should be happy. Note: these particular flowers are geared for the Northeast so you will want to check within your region for appropriate blooms.

As I mentioned earlier, in addition to flowers you may want to include some type of feeder. This could take some time as there are numerous types, from elaborately decorated glass to simple plastic.I can tell you from experience, I’ve used both – the decorated one just because it was pretty, the Hummers really didn’t care – and ended up with a simple clear glass container.

We currently have just one feeder and it's hung on a shepherds hook next to the kitchen windows (I just happen to use the kitchen table when writing so I get lots of entertainment but I can get side-tracked as our bird feeder also hangs near those windows). That hook by the way was and old rusty green mess when I found it, a little sanding and a couple of coats of matte black spray paint (Rust-Oleum) made a world of difference.

If you have an open porch this is a great place to hang a feeder, tree branches will also work fine or from a shepherds hook like I did. The best thing is to look for spots where the birds can be seen after all half the fun comes from watching these little dynamites.

Mason Jar Glass Hummingbird Feeder - Perky Pet

When it come to what to fill the feeder with you have a couple of options. One is to buy a pre-made solution or you can make your own. Making your own is really quick and easy the recipe we use is as follows: 

• 1 Cup Water

• 1/4 Cup White Sugar

• Boil the water (I just do this in the microwave) Add Sugar - Stir until dissolved

• Let mixture cool - Add to feeder

If you choose to make your own solution, do not add honey as it ferments very rapidly and can be fatal to the birds. Also the addition of red food coloring is not necessary, they will find the food without it.

Something to keep in mind is that during the hot summer months a sugar/water mixture can ferment pretty quickly so you'll want to keep an eye on it. Changing the mixture about every three days is a pretty good rule of thumb unless you happen to have several Hummers (last summer we counted between six and seven) in which case you may be refilling the feeder long before it has a chance to go bad.

Hummingbirds

Hang a flower basket and put up a feeder, then sit back and marvel at these "Little Flying Powerhouses" - The Hummingbird.