I had a hummingbird visitation every morning during the flowering of my lilac bush but she

[CTyankee]

has stopped coming because the blossoms are now gone. I wish she would come back and I may get a hummingbird feeder. I know it is a female because of her drab coloration.

My daughter has a hummingbird also. She is a landscape designer and probably knows what plants attract these birds. Her bird is a male and has a bright yellow band around his neck.

Is there some way I can attract this bird back? It was so nice watching this bird just outside our window when she would make her morning visit and I was watching Morning Joe and sipping my coffee...

[handmade34]

1. my hummingbirds

delight me beyond words... I put up 3 hummingbird feeders because the males fight viciously when there is only 1... I have them placed so I can see the birds from my kitchen window, my bedroom window and/or while sitting on the back porch

[CTyankee]

2. what do you feed them?

[Sherman A1]

4. We just mixed sugar with water

and avoid the red dyed stuff they sell on the shelf at the stores. I understand that isn't good for the little birds.

[handmade34]

5. 1:4

sugar to water easy peasy heat to dissolve sugar and cool

I just have to not mix sugar mixtures because I am feeding my honeybees as well and they take a 1:1

[CTyankee]

7. 4 teaspoons of sugar to 1 cup of water?

[handmade34]

9. oh sorry

1 part sugar to 4 parts water example 1 cup sugar to 4 cups water... don't need dye or anything else... I do try to get feeders with some red and yellow on them... if we are on the porch and have something colorful on us or near the hummingbirds will buzz us

[a kennedy]

17. Yup, exactly, easy peasy, 1 Cup sugar to 4 cups water, dissolve sugar......and cool.

the hummers love it.

[Sherman A1]

3. We have two feeders out

and I saw one this morning at the feeder which is in our flower garden. We had another pair during the lilac blooms, but they have moved on along with the bees. At several points I wasn't sure that the two groups would work things out diplomatically, but all seems to be good.

[CTyankee]

6. Can I buy or make their nectar?

[Sherman A1]

11. We make ours

with sugar and water. No real recipe involved and we don't heat it just mix it together and put it in a left over 32oz McDonald's cup in the fridge. There are a bunch of recipes online if you want to look them up.

[Solly Mack]

8. Definitely a feeder. They like a water source as well. Moving water is what they like best.

You can take a cleaned metal trash can lid, flip it over onto a terracotta pot, not a small one, the weight of the terracotta helps maintain the balance and the wider the mouth the better for balance as well, and use a solar watering spout to keep the water flowing. Just add water as necessary and keep clean.

Place a on table in the sun.

Flowers they like include bee balm, petunias, zinnias, verbena, impatiens (all I grow and all attract hummers), as well as trumpet flowers, columbines, daylilies, and foxgloves. There are others.

I grow to attract hummers, butterflies, and bees.

Bee balm is a sure fire winner. It gets rather large though.

Don't use that red stuff for the hummers. 1/4 sugar to 1 cup boiling hot water, stir, allow to cool, fill.

I have around 50 hummers this year.

[Glamrock]

10. We have a feeder hanging in front of the window.

And I built a carpeted shelf for the kitties on the inside of said window. I swear, the hummingbirds purposefully fuck with my cats! They'll hover well below the feeder looking in through the window and zip left and right. Bootsy, Steviewonder, & The Beans trip over each other following. Hilarious!

[sarge43]

12. A hummer feeder will do it.

All hummer feeders have red coloring on them and hummers are attracted to red. She'll be over ASAP to check it out.

Recommend Droll Yankee saucer feeders. They come with four or eight feeding vents. They're well made (we've had our for over 10 years now) and very easy to clean. Cleanliness is very important. Mold can build up very quickly in the sugar water. The syrup should be changed every three days at most and the feeder washed thoroughly. White vinegar and thorough rinse.

If you can, put the feeder near a bush or some kind of cover. She'll appreciate the duck and cover.

Formula: 4 parts hot but not boiling water to 1 part granulated white sugar. No honey or red coloring.

If more hummers show and they probably will, don't let the fighting bother you. That's what they do; the Aztecs considered them the avatar of their god of war. You could put out a hundred feeders and they'd still fight over one of them.

[CTyankee]

13. OK, great. Where do I buy this bird feeder?

[sarge43]

15. They're on line. drollyankees.com

Most hardware or garden shops should have them.

[ismnotwasm]

14. We have three feeders

I just buy the mix and the feeders at a hardware store. I have a honeysuckle which I think attracted them in the first place. Unfortunately I painted my house this year and cut it way back, so I think they were disappointed, but then again also shot a great video of one on my raspberries blooms

[sarge43]

16. They love honeysuckle. n/t

[a kennedy]

18. And they'll remember from year to year where the feeders are.....

They may be tiny, but hummingbirds have a huge memory, researchers have found.
Their hippocampus – the area of the brain responsible for learning and memory – is up to five times bigger than that in songbirds, seabirds and woodpeckers.
This might explain why hummingbirds are such skilled foragers.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2104624/Hummingbirds-huge-memory-lets-remember-location-flower-territory.html

[CTyankee]

19. Oh, joy! Thanks so much for this info.

Going to look for a hummingbird feeder this weekend...

[Rhiannon12866]

20. I had a hummingbird come right to the deck for my hanging fuchsia

That's another flower that they seem to like. And I love hummingbirds, too - I'm bookmarking this thread for all the helpful advice!

[CTyankee]

21. What a gorgeous plant that is! Maybe I can find one.

[seaglass]

22. Yes, we've had fuschias hanging on our front porch for years and the hummingbird(s) always

comes back. She loves them. They are messy though, flowers drop off frequently. Still worth it.

[CTyankee]

24. I will look for one and will also consult my daughter, who is a landscape designer.

She knows her plants!

[lunatica]

23. If you live where it snows remember that hummingbirds migrate

If you leave food out they might stay too long and get caught in cold weather. Here’s a link for information on hummingbird migration.

https://www.hummingbirdcentral.com/hummingbird-migration

[CTyankee]

25. Thanks, that was helpful.

[vlyons]

26. Get a hummingbird feeder

There are several different types of feeders. I just put a new one out this morning. Make your own necter. 1 part sugar, 4 parts water.

[Botany]

27. Trumpet Vine will get them along w/columbine, cardinal flower, milkweed, and penstemon

feeders are OK but the native plants are better.

[CTyankee]

28. Yes, my daughter favors native plantings in her landscape design business.

Her clientele tends to be upper income families with large houses/grounds. She has the same so she is familiar with what is fashionable and shows off the house well. She also has a house on Chappaquiddick Island where she goes each summer. Two houses keep her pretty busy!

[Botany]

29. I forgot lavender hyssop, asters, and in pots or hanging baskets nasturtium (annual)

BTW my biz is in large part native plants. And if the will grow around you the
native lupine is nice too.

[CTyankee]

34. the lavender sounds like a good idea since I love the color and it would be a nice

addition of another shade of color for my mostly green bushes out in the front of our house...

[sarge43]

31. Yes they are; however a realiable food source is always welcome.

Plants aren't always available - bloom time, chilly damp weather, rain may wash out the nectar, etc.

Before they lock down at night, they have one last fuel up. They keep a beak full in their gullet for the quick jump start in the next morning. If they can't find another find another source quickly, they're in trouble. They use energy at a prodigious rate, more so when there's a kid to feed.

So a feeder can be a life saver.

[mulsh]

30. Hummingbirds eat insects too. We have hummingbirds nesting around our house but few flowering plant

and no feeder. The birds, about 20 I'd say, do fine scrapping the leaves of the bushes and trees in our neighborhood in addition to hitting the flowering plants in the area. Complex birds with a complex diet. Here's a fairly informative article:

[link:https://www.allaboutbirds.org/not-all-sweetness-and-light-the-real-diet-of-hummingbirds/|

[sarge43]

32. Protein source, especially for the kids. n/t

[shanny]

33. They particularly love red/orange flowers, and those with deep throats.

Feeders work great too. You don't need to use red food coloring btw, red on the feeder will do it.