Feeding and Attracting Hummingbirds

I love all birds, but my favorite are probably hummingbirds. They are so tiny and cute and very friendly compared to other birds. I have at least three hummingbirds that live in my yard and visit my feeder on a regular basis. 

Here in Northern Indiana we get the Ruby-Throated variety of hummingbirds. The males have a bright reddish-pink patch on their throats and a beautiful green back. The females, like any other bird, are not as pretty as the males. They are usually not as bright of a green and have more brown on them with just a white throat.

Hummingbirds are pretty amazing little creatures. They fly about 27 miles per hour! They are very curious and will buzz right by you, so close that you can almost feel it. Mine also like to watch us almost as much as we like to watch them. Sometimes I will look up and one will be flying stationary and looking in the window at me!

I feed my hummingbirds homemade nectar. You can buy the red stuff at the store, but it's really just so simple and cheap to make it yourself. Plus, there is some debate on whether the red stuff is good for them or not. So I figure, why take the chance? Fresh is always best anyways! Just make sure to always keep a steady supply of food for them and they will keep coming back for more!

All you need to do to make your own nectar is fully combine one part sugar to four parts cold water. That's it! No boiling needed! I have a large feeder so I use 1/2 cup sugar and 2 cups water. These birds like their nectar changed every 3-4 days or whenever it gets cloudy. Mine will tell us when they want fresh!

Also make sure to clean out your feeder each time you refill it. Hummingbirds can get sick and die if the feeder is moldy or too dirty. All we do is rinse it ours out very well with plain old water and wipe off any mold spots. Do not use soaps to clean it as that can make birds sick too.

Almost anyone can get in on the fun of feeding hummingbirds, even if you live in an apartment! I've seen hummingbird feeders that attach to windows or you can hang them from just about anywhere. These birds are very territorial and will keep coming back to the same spot year after year.

Hummingbirds are very friendly and curious creatures. Mine let me get very close to them and they like to buzz us to say hello! I've seen videos of people holding a feeder in their hands and hummingbirds coming right up to them and eating out of their hands. This has happened to my mom once, but not me yet! That's my goal though!

This is one of my female hummingbirds. I have two females and one male (as far as I can tell) that come to my feeder. I see the girls out more than the guy for some reason.

If you have several birds fighting each other off at your feeder, put out another feeder. The more feeders you have, the more birds you will attract.

I just put up a another feeder in my new window box. So far, I've only seen one bird at it once. It will probably catch on better next year. Hummingbirds also feed on flower nectar too.

Hummingbirds like to rest nearby in between feedings, usually in a tree, but sometimes they sit on my tomato cages too! Once, I was gardening and I looked up and came face to face with a hummingbird sitting on a tomato cage. It was pretty cool! We sat there for a little bit staring at each other before it flew off!

This is my male hummingbird. He's a bit harder to photograph. I couldn't get a picture of him head on so you could see his ruby throat, but notice how his back is much more bright green than the females.

Here's a closer picture. They really are very beautiful birds!

Hummingbirds flap their wings about 53 times PER SECOND!

In my area, hummingbirds generally arrive sometime in April and stay throughout Fall. Sometimes birds that are traveling through your area will stop at your feeder on their way to Central America, where they spend the winter.

Happy feeding!