4.12.10 – The first hummingbird was at the feeder this morning! He is early! I expect them around April 15 (easy to remember, since it’s tax day….), and they generally come in later than that. (photo: flickr s p e x)
Yesterday, I washed the feeder and filled it half-way with food to attract them. This morning, I was sitting near it on the back porch, and the hummer dive-bombed the feeder. He scared me – loud, fast and too close! But I was glad to see him and more glad that I put the feeder up yesterday.
There are not many plants in flower this time of year for hummers, so a feeder is the only way to get them used to coming to your garden. Hummers don’t sense food by smell, but by color. They drink nectar from red tubular flowers, and feeders are made to resemble them. The food in the feeder does not need to be red, but if you buy a commercial preparation, it will look like Kool-Aid (not the political kind). I make my own mix – 1 part white sugar, 3 parts water. The sugar has to be dissolved completely, so I use warm water and stir vigorously. Extra can go in the fridge, but be sure to label it.
Keep your feeder out of the sun, because the food can get moldy. Bugs also climb in there and die. Wash it out with soapy hot water and rinse well each time you change the food.
Hummingbirds come back to the same feeding spots every year, so once you start feeding them, you will always have them. One year, my cat killed about ten. I didn’t think there would be any the following year, but I had plenty!
They check in at my house in April for a few weeks, then they leave. They return when the hollyhocks start blooming in late May. This is their natural food, but by putting up a feeder in the spring, I have shown them this is a yummy place to eat. They leave around the middle of September for Mexico. Not a bad idea, huh?
For hummingbirds all summer, plant a garden that includes these shrubs and perennials to attract them:
> Penstemon (Penstemon spp)
> Columbine (Aquilegia spp)
> Bee Balm (Mondara spp)
> Hollyhock (Alcea rosea)
> Autumn Sage (Savlia gregii)
> Desert Willow (Chiloppsis linearis)
> Coral Honeysuckle (Lonicera sempervirens)
> Trumpet Creeper (Campsis radicans)
> Agastache ‘Firebird’ (Agastache sp.)
And always grow organically. Please!
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
I love hummingbirds! Thanks for the tips on what attracts them too :)
You’re welcome, Tara! You can plant annual flowers, too, but they tend to take more water than these shrubs, and you have to replant them every year. There is more info at http://www.hummingbirds.net/.
Great post. Ready to read more.
NICE ONE.
Thanks! I love hummingbirds.