Hummingbirds are, also, called hummers, and they jewel to anyone's garden. It is easy to attract hummingbirds by using flowers, feeders, nectar and my favorite, sugar water solution. A good way to enjoy their company is to plant a hummingbird garden. Hummingbirds are attracted to red, and orange flowers. Some flowers that attract hummingbirds are impatiens, saliva, lilies and tubular shape type flowers or plants. You do not have to have an abundance of flower's; just one or two will be fine, along with your red feeder should be enough to attract them.
Hang your feeder from a pole, or tree branch, or where you will see your hummers most often. If you do not have trees near your house, hang perches around so the hummer's can land on them. They use perches, branches, twigs, clotheslines or any other convenient ways to rest. But mostly, they use it to push off into a hummingbird flight. There flight of a hummer is very unique. They fly up, left, down and backwards. Hummer's feed by sight on regularly followed routes and it is in their nature to quickly investigate any possible new source of food. Even though hummers are small they are very protective of their home and will fight to their feeders. Once they find your feeder, you will enjoy them season after season.
Hummers love their plants sprayed with water as they rub against dripping wet leaves as well as to fly through the mist to bathe. If ants discover your feeder, rub the pole with petroleum jelly or hang a mote filled with water.
The hummingbird solution is very easy to make.
The recipe for Hummers
- Boil 4 cups of water
- Stir in one cup of white sugar
- The solution should be changed daily
Bring the solution just to a boil over low heat. Allow the solution to cool. Fill the feeder partly full, as the hummers will not use it all. Then store it in the refrigerator for about ten days.
If this is your first hummingbird feeder and you are not sure how many hummers will use the feeder, do not fill it up all the way. Only add a small amount of solution and this will also help reduce wasted solution and cleaning. Once the hummers have begun to use the feed regularly, then add a little bit more to the feeder.
Cleaning your hummingbird feeder is very important for the health of your hummer's. The temperature of the weather depends on how often you change the solution. I changed the solution almost daily and in the warmer days I will change the solution twice a day but that is my personal preference. As a general guide, if the temperature is cool, you can change the solution about once a week. If the temperature is over 80 and degrees, the solution should be changed twice a day. Old solution will become cloudy and have harmful mold and bacteria growing and this is not good for the hummers. The feeders should be cleaned at least every 3 days in hot weather and every 6 to 7 days in cool weather.
Cleaning hummer's feeder:
- Empty out all remaining solution and rinse the feeder in warm water
- Clean with vinegar and water and if the mold doesn't come off, try scrubbing it off with a bottlebrush
- Once the mold is removed, rinse again in warm water and let air dry
Like most birds, they migrate south for the winter at first frost, and come back in the spring to find your feeder again. Hummingbirds are quite intelligent and if your garden is well kept up with nectar flowers and solution, your hummer's will visit your garden every season.
