Feeding Hummingbirds is Easy and Inexpensive

Before feeding hummingbirds you should learn a little about them. The hummingbird family, Trochilidae, is only found in the Western Hemisphere. Three hundred and twenty-eight species of hummingbirds are known to exsist. The only family of wild birds known to have more species is the Tyrant flycatchers. There are around 20 species of hummingbirds found in North America and Mexico. The 300 plus additional species stay in Central and South America. They are considerably more diverse in size, color patterns and lifestyle.

Here is a question that I get asked all the time: What do hummingbirds eat?

Most of us think of flower nectar when answering this question, but they also eat small flying insects. Hummers are attracted to the color red so if your are interested in feeding them in a more natural setting try planting red flowers.

Some of the best hummingbird flowers are:

• Coral Bells (Heuchera sanguine)
• Red Bee Balm (Monarda didyma)
• Foxglove (Digitalis purpurea)
• Scarlet Salvia (Salvia coccinea)
• Bleeding Heart (Dicentra spectabilis)
• Cardinal Flower (Lobelia cardinalis)
• Red Columbine (Aquilegia canadense)

Feeding hummers is a spring through autumn activity. Most hummingbirds leave North America in the winter for the warm weather of Centeral and South America. As sunlight and food sources diminish and the temperatures begin to drop, the hummers will start their long migration south. Ruby-throat Hummingbirds, for example, travel as many as 2,000 miles between Canada and Panama. The trip includes a non-stop, 500-mile flight over the Gulf of Mexico.

Feeding hummingbirds is not only easy, it is very inexpensive!

Once you buy two or three hummingbird feeders you only need to provide the artificial nectar. And guess what, you can make it yourself. All you need is:

4 parts water and 1 part sugar

Just boil the water, stir in the sugar, let it cool and feed. It is that easy!

Male hummingbirds are territorial so if you are interested in feeding more than a few hummers at one time you should hang several hummingbird feeders around your yard. Just make sure you can see them because feeding hummingbirds is more fun when you get to watch them eat.

Feeding Hummingbirds