As soon as the weather warms up in May our little friends return from the southern climes. I usually notice the quarrelsome “chirp” in the backyard before I actually see a hummingbird, so I know they are back. Some people in the Ozarks merely enjoy their presence, and others make plans to welcome hummers with feeding stations and plants.
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If you want to attract more hummingbirds to your own place there are mostly two ways to do it:
- Put up hummingbird feeders
- Provide plants that hummingbirds like
They not only like the right kind of food to eat, they need water and nesting places. Think about how you can make the perfect habitat in your backyard. Buying hummingbird feeders and food is the fastest and easiest way to get started. Later you can plan on planting the perfect shrubs and flowers to bring them in.
Attracting hummingbirds to your yard by planting lots of flowers and provide habitat that will give them shade, shelter, food, and security. Herbs, flowering shrubs, dwarf trees, and vines all can be used to create an ideal habitat. They like to live from ground level to about 10 feet.
Hummingbirds need enough room to hover and navigate from flower to flower. Give them some wide open spaces to play. They love water and will visit a bird bath. A gentle, continuous spray from a nozzle or a sprinkler hose is perfect for a bath on the fly.
Hummingbirds rely on bright colors to find their food and are particularly fond of red. They will investige feeders with red parts, red plant labels, red thermometers, and even red clothes on a gardener.
There has been a warning not to use red dye in a hummingbird feeder because there is concern that it may harm the birds. Instead, use plain, clear sugar water (1 part white sugar mixed with 4 parts water).
Brightly–colored flowers that are tubular hold the most nectar, and are particularly attractive to hummingbirds. These include perennials such as bee balms, columbines, daylilies, and lupines; biennials such as foxgloves and hollyhocks; and many annuals, including cleomes, impatiens, and petunias.
Don't wait – fix up your yard to attract hummingbirds and enjoy the show.
