Hummingbirds are small bird species that attract attention with their flashy wings.Hummingbirds are endemic to America. These birds are known as hummingbirds because of the humming sound produced by the beating of their wings.Hummingbirds are also known as hummers. A hummingbird’s habitat is a nest, which they build in shrubs and sheltered trees. You can often find them nesting in between a fork of two branches of a tree. The nesting process of these birds can vary depending on the region and the season. The male hummingbird attracts the female through its colorful plumage. The male also drops down a wind tunnel at a deeper depth to attract the attention of a female.You will find this bird species visiting your yard, and you might want to attract more of them in order to feed them and watch their spectacular flights. Somehow, hummingbirds are attracted to the color red. The reason behind this concept is still unknown. Therefore, you can use this color to lure hummingbirds to your backyard.You can plant shrubs that have leaves of a red or orange hue. You can plant flowering plants which have red flowers in your backyard garden. Another method to lure them is to tie red ribbons on tree trunks and branches in your yard. Planting native honeysuckle can also greatly help in attracting hummingbirds. A native honeysuckle plant has vividly colored flowers, including red ones. One of the native honeysuckles is the trumpet honeysuckle. The trumpet flower, which is red in color, can be used to attract hummingbirds.Flowers can also help by providing natural nectar to hummingbirds. This bird species has a very high metabolism rate, and they depend on nectar for gaining energy to perform various tasks. Moreover, these birds do not hop or walk; they only fly or perch on the branches of trees. They even sleep during the night by perching. Thus, you can create perches or clear out areas where they can possibly perch.Apart from blooming flowers, plants, and red ribbons, you can also attract hummingbirds through food sources. Read on to find out how this is possible.Once you finish reading this fun facts article, you might also be interested in reading our articles about tadpole life cycles and cardinal state birds here at Kidadl.What is a hummingbird feeder?You can provide food to hummingbirds to attract them to your backyard. This can be done with the help of hummingbird feeders. Hummingbird feeders are slightly different from other bird feeders.The feeders designed for this bird species have a transparent body with a red base or opening from which hummingbirds can feed. There are two hummingbird feeders depending on the food in each of them. The first feeder is an insect feeder. Hummingbird feeders with insects provide the necessary protein, vitamins, and minerals needed by these birds.Insects are one of the main food sources for hummingbirds. They feed on flying insects whenever they can. Moreover, they also eat spiders from the spider webs on trees. They also use spider webs to make their nest. You can put various kinds of insects in insect hummingbird feeders to feed these birds. Alternatively, you can also put various food items that attract insects to the feeders, which in turn can become food for these birds.Apart from the protein that hummingbirds can consume from insect feeders, they also require nectar to gain energy. They can get natural nectar from the flowers in your yard. However, you can also put up nectar feeders for them to feed on. The nectar in nectar feeders can be made from sugar water without any added flavor or food coloring. Even though you might feel that adding red food coloring is a good idea, it is not, as it is not healthy for these birds.In addition to insect feeders and nectar feeders, you should also keep a feeder with water for hummingbirds to drink from. If a water feeder doesn’t work, find another way to supply water to these birds. Moreover, their water should be changed regularly so that hummingbirds have fresh water to drink.Where To Hang Hummingbird FeedersHummingbird feeders should not be hung too high or too low. They should be hung at a height that is convenient for you so that you don’t have to struggle to take them off for cleaning or refilling. There are some other precautions that have to be maintained in order to ensure that hummingbirds can get to the food inside.You can hang their feeders just above the flowerbeds in your garden or anywhere near flowers. Hummingbirds will be attracted to the flowers and then chance upon the feeder, which they can then use. The feeders can also be hung from perches created in your yard, where after feeding, hummingbirds can perch and relax.The feeders, however, should not be placed close to any foliage that can act as a bridge for other insects, such as ants, to get access. Ants are known for their love of anything sweet, including sugar water. If your nectar feeders are anywhere near a place in your yard that ants have access to, then they can steal the nectar for themselves.Moreover, hummingbirds are known to be possessive. They can bully each other during feeding and might discourage others from coming back. Therefore, be sure to hang multiple feeders all around your yard and garden so that they have places to eat and drink. If you live in an apartment, you can attract hummingbirds to your balcony by hanging feeders in your window.Why won’t hummingbirds come to your feeder?There are various reasons why hummingbirds might not come to your feeders. Some of these reasons are listed below.A very obvious reason for hummingbirds not coming to your feeder or your yard can be the time of the year. Although in some places you can see hummingbirds visiting all year round, there are other places where they only come out during certain seasons or particular weather. Hummingbirds, who are long-distance migrants, migrate to different places during early spring.The male birds arrive before the females do. Furthermore, early spring is a time where flowers still haven’t bloomed completely, and snow can still fall. If these tiny birds cannot get their fill of nectar from blooming flowers or a feeder for the first time that they visit, they might not come back. Therefore, you should make sure that your garden is attractive and filled with plants with vibrant leaf and flower colors.Another reason for hummingbirds not coming by for weeks could be that the feeders you put up are dirty or the nectar in them is spoilt. Hummingbirds will not visit feeders if they are not clean and if they do not have anything to eat in them. Thus, you should make sure that the feeders are clean and the nectar in them is not spoiled.Hummingbirds will also stay away and not visit your feeders in your garden and window if there is no supply of nectar. The reason for the vanishing of the nectar can be bees and ants who are also attracted to the sugar water in the feeders and might steal it for themselves. On the other hand, the nectar recipe you are using might be wrong. The same might be said for the position of the feeder. One of the best tips for attracting hummingbirds is to make sure that the feeders are only used for feeding these tiny birds and not other creatures and that they are kept clean.How long does it take for hummingbirds to come to a feeder?It is not possible to attract hummingbirds as quickly as you think. You might think that these tiny birds will suddenly come flying as soon as you plant flowering plants or build perches and hang feeders. But this is not the case.It takes time for hummingbirds to find these feeding sources. The process can take days, weeks, or even months to succeed. Even hanging multiple feeders won’t help much if they cannot find them. Moreover, some of these tiny birds travel long distances during spring and start nesting during summer.What you can do is to make the feeding place attractive. Plant native honeysuckle if possible. Make use of red colors through plants and flowers. If hummingbirds find your feeders and can continue feeding for a long time, then they will definitely visit more often.Sounds To Attract Hummingbirds The best tips to attract hummingbirds aren’t just limited to feeders. You can also attract these birds through certain sounds.Hummingbirds are tiny creatures that do not like very loud noise. If there is too much noise around their feeding area, they tend to avoid it. On the other hand, the soft noises of other birds twittering and the wind blowing through the leaves and flowers are quite attractive to hummers. Therefore, while setting up feeders and creating a place to attract hummingbirds, make sure that there are no loud sounds nearby.Now that you know the various ways to attract hummingbirds, you can easily try to do it in your backyard or balcony too. Moreover, you can make the experience more interesting by opting to make your own feeders instead of buying commercial ones.Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly facts for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our article about how to attract hummingbirds to feeders, then why not take a look at our articles about what baby birds eat or the highest flying bird?
Hummingbirds are small bird species that attract attention with their flashy wings.
