Wednesday: Attracting Hummingbirds

Where are "my" hummingbirds? While I have not run across any hard data or studies relating to hummingbird declines, I can state that this spring/early summer has been a "poor" year for backyard hummers here in Laporte. We keep journals of bird activity and can easily go back 5 years to see what kind of action we normally get at this time of year. Birds of all kinds are flying through and enjoying the feeders and bird bath, but very few are hummers. We would normally see or hear a few a day. At this point, we've gone a week or more between sightings.

Here in our neighborhood, July is the best month to attract hummingbirds, so perhaps we'll be in for a happy surprise in a few weeks.

Not to be discouraged, as always we've put out many hummingbird feeders, in very obvious, open areas so it's easy for the birds to find them. You don't have to spend a lot of money on special red nectar for feeding, as a combination of 4 parts water to 1 part sugar (cooked on the stove to dissolve completely and make a syrup) works just fine. No need to add red food coloring--the bird is not looking at the color of glass feeder contents, but rather the red and yellow base on most commercial feeders.

Planting red flowers is also a great way to attract not only hummingbirds, but butterflies as well. Hysop and bee balm are favorites of mine. We plant these in large pots on the deck, and when hummers come in to feed from them, it makes for a nice wildlife photo (if you crop out the pot). Even simple red or dark pink petunias in hanging baskets draw birds to our "observation" deck. Yellow petunias have worked for me too. Hummers like to stick their long bills into tubular flowers, so consider the shape of the blooms as well as the color when you head to the local nursery.

If you choose to attract hummers to your yard this year,  be sure to research species in your part of the world. You'll want to know when the birds will be migrating through your neighborhood. For example, Ruby-throated Hummingbirds have already finished their movements to their breeding grounds in many parts of the eastern US. The Cornell Lab of Ornithology web site that I often refer to on this blog is a good source for all kinds of bird information.  Find out as much about the potential birds in your area and be sure to provide a reliable, contstant source of food for the period that they are with you. Once a hummer discovers a feeder, he or she tends to stick around and take advantage of it for a few days, especially if it's early enough in the season that flowers are not yet blooming.