Using The Best Hummingbird Feeders to Attract Birds

Hummingbirds are amazing, and if you are lucky enough to live on the American continent you may be able to encourage these adorable birds to spend time in your garden if you create a safe space for them.

Although they may live for around 10 years, many will die in their first year of life due to a lack of food or being caught by predators. There isn’t a great deal you can do to help protect the fledglings from predators, but you can help prevent the lack of food by planting well, and using a feeder designed to appeal to hummingbirds.

Where Should Feeders Go?

Whether you have a larger sprawling garden or a small apartment planter box, if you want hummingbirds to visit you should be looking at placing your feeder in an area surrounded by as many different varieties of plants that are known to appeal to the little birds.

The birds are well known for having excellent memories of where different food sources can be found, so once they have discovered your well catered garden, they will be likely to keep visiting. You can visit this site for more info: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0065345403010076?via%3Dihub .By creating a garden (or planter box) that is full of the bright flowers which hummingbirds adore you are increasing the likelihood that they will want to visit.

You should place your feeder in a location that will be safe from predators, so off the ground, and out of reach of jumping cats. If you have neighborhood cats that keep coming into your yard you can install rolling bars along your fence line that prevent them from being able to jump over the fence.

Choosing A Hummingbird Feeder

Because there are a surprising number of feeders on the market you might like to have a look at the organization Hummingbirds Plus – best hummingbird feeder reviews to get recommendations and tips for getting the right feeder.

These wee birds have incredibly high metabolisms, they live on a diet that is very high in sugar, predominantly drinking nectar from flowers. So, rather than the type of feeders that allow birds to peck away at seeds, the hummingbird feeder needs to hold liquid nectar, which of course will bring ants and other insects as well. Which is not ideal for most people?

Choosing The Right Flowers

Hummingbirds are attracted to brightly colored flowers, mainly ones that are easy for them to fit their entire beak into (click here to see this research). Honeysuckles, which bloom May – June, are a favorite for gardeners and birds alike. The Trumpet Vine, which blooms July to September, is loved by bees and birds, but can easily get out of control.

While the Red Cardinal Flower blooms in summer, it really relies on attracting hummingbirds for pollination, making it a great addition, what’s more, it prefers a shady spot, so ideal for brightening up darker corners of your garden.

However, which plants are best in your garden will depend on where you are, and which birds you are looking to attract. Doing some research into which variety is most commonly found in your area, and which migrate through, will give you a good place to start from.

For example, the buff-bellied variety is generally found in Florida, and prefers Agave, Desert willow and Salvias. While the Calliope variety is often found around The Rockies and adores Monkey flowers, Columbines and Indian paintbrushes.

You may need to do a little experimentation to see which plants grow best in your garden, and where they should be located in order to gain the attention of any of the species found in your area. Which ever flowers you choose, they should have a high amount of nectar, and there will always be the bonus that they will attract bees and butterflies.

What Goes in A Hummingbird Feeder?

You do not need a separate water source for hummingbirds as they get their fluid intake from drinking nectar.

Although flower nectar does contain traces of salts and acids, the primary ingredients are water, sucrose, fructose and glucose. There may also be proteins, but this is generally sourced from pollen rather than from the nectar itself.

It is the high sugar content that the hummingbirds are really after, so when you are filling your feeder you will usually not need anything more exotic that refined white sugar and water. You will normally boil the water to ensure that it has dissolved all the sugar crystals, but make sure you let it cool down before putting it out.