Do you have hummingbirds where you live? Have you ever wondered what you can do to attract them to hang around your house? It’s as easy as providing hummingbirds with the nectar they love! Now, who wants to put up a hummingbird feeder? How about you!
I’ve seen hummingbirds around since I was a kid. Usually it’s now you see them, now you don’t. They flutter around, hover in the air, and their wings flap around 50 times a second. Wow! Explains why they’re gone in the blink of an eye.
20 years ago I lived in a townhouse with a tiny backyard. I put up a glass hummingbird feeder and filled it with the red nectar hummingbirds love so much. It hung near the back sliding door. I don’t remember it attracting any hummingbirds. I do remember the hummingbird feeder attracted an army of ants. Hundreds of ants marching up the side of the house, along the bracket, and shimmying down to the hummingbird feeder to get the nectar.
Nobody needs an ant problem in their house. I took down the hummingbird feeder and I never put one up again, even though I’ve had other bird feeders over the years.
Recently I had to purchase a new suet cage after the Mysterious Disappearance of the Bird Suet Cage. While I was at Wal-Mart the hummingbird feeder caught my eye and I decided to buy one. I’ve seen a hummingbird hovering outside my living room window. Perhaps it would like a nice drink of nectar. Luckily my sundeck has plenty of hooks along the roof thanks to a previous resident.
Not knowing how many hummingbirds I might attract I bought a fairly inexpensive plastic one with the flower petals where the hummingbirds can drink the nectar. I chose the plastic because I have a lot of larger birds around here like blue jays and woodpeckers and wasn’t sure if they might settle on the hummingbird feeder. The last thing I need is to clean up a bunch of glass in a sticky red puddle. I also bought a small package of hummingbird instant nectar concentrate. Just add water and it turns a nice red color.
(Disclosure: If you click on the picture below, it will take you to a link at Amazon where you can purchase a similar hummingbird feeder plus a package of nectar. I’ll receive a small commission for the referral.)
It’s easy to make your own nectar for a hummingbird feeder. For the recipe and to see a picture of a really pretty hummingbird with pink trim, check out https://nationalzoo.si.edu/migratory-birds/hummingbird-nectar-recipe
I’m not fast enough with the camera to snap a picture of a hummingbird, and the two photos below are courtesy Pexels.
In addition to putting up a hummingbird feeder, I’ve seen a commercial on TV recently about hummingbird perches. Apparently hummingbirds like to perch on a swinglike thing that looks like the one I had in my budgie cage when I was a kid.
(Disclosure: If you click on the picture below, it will take you to a link at Amazon. If you purchase a hummingbird swinging perch, I’ll receive a small commission for the referral.)
For more interesting facts on hummingbirds, check out this article.
Do you have hummingbirds in your area? Leave a comment and tell us know how you attract them.
