Water For Hummingbirds

Like all other birds, hummers look for a dependable supply of daily water and the seem to especially relish taking baths.  I read a story about a hummingbird that hovered over a dew-covered leaf for at least ten minutes while it brushed its breast and belly over and over against the wet surface and then preened its wet feathers. 

Have you seen birds that stand in shallow pools and splash water over their bodies with their whirling wings?  It is an amazing and sweet sight.

Hummingbirds love misters!!  I have seen them fly through them and perch under them all the while working water into their feathers.  Some birders have reported seeing hummers flying back and forth through law sprinklers. 

You might want to include a mister in your ultimate backyard to attract not only hummers but other birds as well.  Misters are inexpenseive.  Some attach to garden hoses and others attach to pumps immersed in a birdbath or shallow pool or pond.

Protect Hummingbird’s Food From Insects

Insects often compete with hummingbirds at nectar feeders.  Ants love the nectar as do several species of bees and wasps.  Ants can be stopped in their “tracks” with a simple device called an ant moat: a small plastic “cup” with eye loops at the top and bottom that fits between the feeder and the hanger.  Fill the cup with water or salad oil to prevent the ants from crawling out of it and reaching the feeder. 

Bees, wasps and other flying insects can often be discouraged by using feeders with bee guards, small plastic baskets that attch to the feeding holes.  Bee guards allow hummers to reach the nectar with their long tongues, but they prevent insects from reaching it with their feeding mouthparts.

Except for people who live in southern states that are warm enough to have hummingbirds year-round, most birdwatchers after the birds migrate southin the fall.  Bu, having feeders up and waiting when the first males arrive in the spring can be the key to having them stay around your yard for the summer.  Check with the staff at a bird specialty sotre or other birdwatchers to find out when the first birds will arrive in your area.

Watching hummingbirds has become so popular that many newspapers run articles about their arrival and when to set out feeders. Sometimes after th first few weeks of the spring migration the numbers of birds visiting your feeders drops of and you may think the hummers have deserted yoru backyard.  Keep your feeders filled though because when the new food sources thy have been exploiting begin to fade, they may come back with an appetite.  And when the young birds come out of their nests in June, they will visit your feeders regularly!

There’s no danger of leaving a feeder up “too long” and enticing hummingbirds to overwinter where it is too cold for them to survive – the instinct to migrate is stronger than any nectar you can offer at your feeder.

You can safely vary the amount of sugar in yoru nectar and offer “stronger” nectar (one part sugar to two parts water) when the birds need more calories, such as just after they arrive in spring, when they are building up fat deposits before their fall migration and after several days of unseasonably damp, cool weather.  Don’t worry, the birds will not “overdose” on the sugar; they just won’t have to feed as often.

Nectar and Feeders For Hummingbirds

Hummingbirds seem to like red, and almost all  hummingbird feeders have enough red on them to attract the birds like a magnet.  If you feel you need even more red to help hummers find your feeders the first time, hang some red ribbons from the feeder or nearby twigs, or place the feeder near red flowers. It is not necessary nor preferred to put red dye in the water. 

Once the hummers discover your feeder they will be steady customers and they’ll bring their friends!

Clean feeders are a must, so choose ones that have openings large enough to insert a bottle brush or toothbrush to scrub the inside.  Plastic feeders are generally easier to maintian than glass, and they don’t shatter if they fall.  Buy several small feeders rather than one large one, it takes a lot of hummingbirds making lots of trips to empty a quart-size feeder before the nectar sours and ferments.  And since hummers tend to be aggressively territorial, you will probably attract more of them if you provide a number of feeders and space them in open areas throughout your backyard.

It is comical and entertaining to watch the more assertive hummers declare their territory, but it is best provide enough food for everyone who comes to dinner!

Attracting Hummingbirds

Attracting hummingbirds by filling feeders with sugar-water nectar is a summertime ritual, and if you live in the South, you may have also used sugar water feders to attract wintering hummingbirds as well. 

Growing up near Cloudcroft, New Mexico, I was pleased to watch hummingbirds hover in mid-air as they fed on the hundreds of nectar feeders hanging everywhere!  It was a colorful show of these pretty flying flowers.

In recent winters, hummingbirds have been seen in almost all of the Southeastern states, and some people provide nectar year round to attract these seasonal visitors from the West.

Commerical ready-to-use and reaty-to-mix nectars are available, but most contain red dyes taht may be harmful to birds’ kidneys.  Red flowers are known to attract hummingbirds, and most hummingbird feeder manufactures add sufficient red areas to their feeders so that no red is needed in the nectar itself.

You can easily make suagar-water nectar by adding one part sugar to four parts boiling water.  Do not add red dye or nohey to your homemade nectar; netierh ingredient is needed to attract birds.  Let the nectar cool before filling your feeders and refrigerate any leftovers. 

Nectar Feeders

Most nectar feeders are designed to attract hummingbirds and have very small feeding holes and perches.  Other birds are also fond of nectar so don’t be surprised if you see orioles, mockingbirds, tanagers, chickadees, house finches, and woodpeckers attempting to drink from your hummingbird feeder.

You can choose from a wide selection of commercial feeders ranging from small feeders that have to be filled daily to ones that hold a quart or more of nectar.  Or, you can make a nectar feeder from bent glass tubing, a rubber stopper and a test-tube.  You may want to add one of the new nectar feeders with larger perches and fill it with a citrus-flavored nectar mix to attract oriolese or fill inexpensive poultry chick water dispensers with sugar-water nectar for larger birds.

Ants, bees, and other insects also feed on nectar.  You can attach an ant moat above the feeder, fill it with water, and effectively block ants from reaching the feeder.  Most nectar feeders have bee guards, barriers that prevent insects from getting close enough to suck up the nectar.

I suggest placing several nectar feeders in your backyard spacing them apart and mounting them on or near viewing windows. 

Hot summer sun has a greenhouse heating effect and ferments nectar in a feeder within a few days, making it unusable to birds.  Every three to four days, rinse out your feeder and add fresh nectar.

Birds that like nectar:  hummingbirds, orioles, woodpeckers, and some finches.