Hummingbirds are interesting little birds to watch.  I have often wondered how they can hover over one spot for amount of time they do.  Of course, their rapid wing beating helps, but it still amazes me.

If you want to attract hummingbirds to your yard, the first thing you need to do is put up a nectar feeder, and since hummingbirds are attracted to bright colors like orange and red, pick out the brightest, gaudiest nectar feeder you can find.   Once the hummingbirds are used to your yard, you can get a tamer colored nectar feeder if you so desire.  Also, when hanging a nectar feeder for the first time, put it somewhat near a tree or bush a littttle ways from the house, and then gradually move it closer to the house.

To fill your nectar feeder, you can either buy the prepackaged nectar mix, or you can make your own nectar.  To make the nectar, use one part of granulated sugar and four parts of hot or boiling water.  And since the birds are attracted to the colors red and orange, you can color the nectar with food coloring, either just red,  or a mix of red and yellow to get the orange color.  Coloring the nectar isn't necessary however.
 
 

The best way to get to know these lively little birds is to plant a garden for them.

There is a wide variety of flowers that hummingbirds love.  Specifics on some of these flowers are listed in the gardening pages.  I will mark those plants that aren't listed on the gardening pages with a *.   As a rule, the best flowers for hummingbirds are have tubular shaped blossums, but there are certainly some that aren't tubular that also attract hummingbirds.

The following are some flowers that you can plant that hummingbirds love:

• Apple-scented geranuim (Pelargonium spp.)*
• Trumpet Vines or Trumpet Honeysuckle (Lonicera sempervirens)
• White flowered impatiens (Impatiens wallerana)*
• Pineapple sage (Salvia elegans)*
• Scarlet Sage (Salvia slendens)*
• Flowering tobacco (Nicatiana slvestris)*
• Azaleas (Rhododendron spp.)*
• Anise hyssop (Agastache foeniculum)
• Yellow Giant hyssop (Agastache nepetoides)
• Red Hot Poker  (Kniphofia hybrid)
• Columbine (Aquilegia spp.)
• California Fuchsia  (Zauschneria californica)
• Bee Balm (Monarda didyma)
• Cardinal Flower (Lobelia cardinalis)
• Morning Glory (Ipomoea purpurea)
• Cypress Vine (Ipomoea quamoclit)
• Honeysuckle (Lonicera spp.)
• Pink Silk or Mimosa (Albizia julibrissin)
• Ligonberry (Vaccinium vitis-idaeas var. minus)

Any of these flowering plants will attract hummingbirds to your yard.  If you plant these hummingbird attractors, you see alot of interesting behavior that you would miss if you just had a nectar feeders.  Hummingbirds are very agressive, and will drive away bees, wasps, butterflies, and other much larger birds.  I've even seen some rather interesting territorial battles between hummingbirds.  And hummingbirds also like to bath on the go, so if you have a sprinker that has a fine spray, you will see hummingbirds flying through the mist like spray.
 

 
 

Ways to Attract Birds to your Yard

Feeding the Birds	Providing Water for the Birds
Providing Housing for the Birds	Landscaping and Gardening for the Birds
Other Methods to Attract Birds	Providing Safety for Birds

 
 
 

Other Birds You May Want to Attract

Back to the Main Page	Attracting Finches
Attracting Orioles	Attracting Cardinals
Attracting Bluebirds	Attracting Buntings
Attracting Woodpeckers	Attracting Tanagers

 
 

Since June 9, 1999