How to Attract Hummingbirds

Hummingbirds are back!

Every outdoor speck of red in North America will be checked out at least once by a hummingbird.

That makes it utterly easy to attract hummingbirds. Just interest them with something red, and then reward them with sweet (flowers or feeders with nectar).

Or offer something to help females build their nests.

Nest material

Female hummers love to use spider webs for construction. The springy fibers make cushiony, elastic walls. They hold the whole nest together and yet allow for expansion as the baby birds grow.

But if you don't happen to have a lot of spiderwebs around your house, you can offer a substitute nesting material that some hummingbirds seem to like even better than spiderwebs. It's called Hummer Helper. Many of our customers have tried it and then ordered again and again, because it works!

Feeding hummingbirds

Although the right flowers are the best way to provide hummingbirds with food, hummingbird feeders are a quick way to get started.

Try a feeder that attaches to your window with suction cups, like the Jewel Box. It's the best designed window feeder for hummers we've ever seen. Really easy to refill, because the red lid hinges up. Click the picture to see more details.

Another feeder we love is the new Dr. JB's Clean Feeder. Completely comes apart, and all the parts go in the dishwasher, so you can keep the entire feeder perfectly clean with no work. It's sturdy and isn't going to fall apart on you.

And check out the Faceted Ruby Hummingbird Feeder, from Schrodt. In fact, we like all the Schrodt feeders, as they are artistic objects in their own right. They enhance any garden or decor.

Flowers for hummers

Mass plantings of the right flowers will turn your garden into a hummingbird haven. Some flowers have been bred to look nice in a garden but have lost their nectar in the bargain.

Try native wildflowers that naturally feed hummingbirds, such as columbines. Every area of the country has its own columbine.

In the Midwest the red columbine opens just when ruby-throated hummingbirds arrive. The columbine feeds the hummer, and the hummer pollinates the flower.

Flowers are the ultimate hummingbird attractors. Red ones especially, but other colors will do also. My hummers come eagerly to coral bells, bee balm, and petunias.

I've had phenomenal luck with hummingbird sage (also called Texas sage.) It's easy to grow, it comes back from seed all by itself, and hummingbirds keep the whole patch buzzing all summer long.

Who's coming

Although a few hummingbirds hunker down for the winter along the southern border of the US, most of the country is devoid of hummingbirds during the winter. Anna's is the one common year-around resident hummer, except along the southern border of the country. Anna's is mainly found in the west. If you live in Oregon, Washington, or central or northern California, this is the hummingbird you've been seeing all winter. (If you happen to have a nice photo of an Anna's hummer that you'd be willing to share, we'd love to put one here in this article. Email me -- Diane.)

Soon Allen's will be joined by Costa's, Allen's, rufous, and calliope hummingbirds. Further inland you'll soon be seeing black-chinned and broad-tailed hummingbirds.

For easterners away from the Gulf Coast, ruby-throated hummingbirds are the whole hummer show. Ruby-throats arrive on the Gulf Coast beginning in February and start making their way north. By May they've spread out over most of eastern North America.

Water

The ideal bath to attract hummingbirds should have a drip or spray. Hummers, like most birds, are irresistibly drawn to the sound of falling water. I've seen them fly through the drip or spray, rather than wading in like other birds. I like my Solar Spa, which makes a delicate spray while the sun is shining.

Lucky us

If you have a flower in bloom or a hummingbird feeder ready, you are almost guaranteed to host passing hummingbirds. And with any luck you may be able to tempt them to stick around all summer.

I feel fortunate that I get to watch for hummingbirds in spring. And sorry for people who haven't noticed the amazing changes in the bird life that take place as the seasons cycle. Watching birds is our lifetime ticket to the theater of nature.

--Diane Porter

Images of hummingbirds © Michael and Diane Porter 2008-2010.
Text © Diane Porter 2010.