Attracting Hummingbirds By Satisfying Their Basic Needs

Attracting hummingbirds is easy, all you really have to do is meet most of their basic needs, and you’ll be well on your way enjoying the sight of them from a window in your home. The main things that you really want to focus on would be food, plants, insects, feeders, water, nesting spots, and shelter. Each one of these will work to getting them to visit your garden everyday but you will have to make sure each of them is properly met.

When it comes to food, the main thing really to keep in mind is it’s a basic need for every creature in the planet, and thus probably the most important one. For hummingbirds, you can provide them with food by either growing the right kind of plants that they like to feed on, with small insects they can eat, and also have your garden enhanced with feeders they can visit.

Plants – Since food is the most important, it’s then very vital to plant just the right kind of flowers in your garden. Remember that hummingbirds love to feed on flowers that have nectar, and these kinds of flowers will attract a large number of them. When planting your flowers, keep the color red utmost in your mind as hummingbirds are very attracted to the color, you add nectar to that and you have the perfect pair in attracting hummingbirds. These flowers would then be the petunias, salvias, impatiens, bleeding hearts, columbine, bee balm, honeysuckle, and the like. Some trees and different species of shrubs will also attract different kinds of hummingbirds. However, if red flowers aren’t to your taste, you can also add purple or red gazing balls that will attract the hummingbirds with their colors.

Now, still related to food, are insects. Though hummingbirds just love feeding on nectar, they also like to mix up their diet with spiders and a few insects. So further attract these hummingbirds, you can allow insects in your garden, and also not use insecticides or pesticides. Keep in mind if you use these you’re also killing their source of food, and you might be endangering the lives of the hummingbirds also.

Feeders – A very common way of attracting hummingbirds to the garden is by keeping a nectar feeder. A large variety of feeder styles are available in the market including inverted tubes, saucer disks and gel packs. Feeders also come with ant, bees and hornet guards and are mostly colored red, for attracting the hummingbirds. You can use the commercial nectar concentrates or more preferably the nectar solution made at home in the feeders.

Apart from meeting the hummingbird’s need of food, you should also be meeting their need for play. And you can do that by placing fresh and clean water sources that are dripping or moving near the nectar-rich flowers. This way, hummingbirds can go for a bit of play in the moving water after they enjoy the nectar.

Nesting Spots – Hummingbirds, unlike many other backyard bird species do not use nesting boxes or birdhouses. They build their cup shaped, double lined nests in shrubs, trees and sometimes along wires, poles or clotheslines. Hence, providing safe and sheltered areas of native plants for the nesting of hummingbirds will make your garden more attractive to them. You can also supply some proper nesting materials like fine lint, animal fur and small lengths of string to attract the nesting birds.

Shelter – And the next need that you can provide to the hummingbirds is their need for shelter. These birds will look for areas where they can perch to get a bit of rest or even to preen and show off their beautiful colors. The way that you can provide this is to place perches like thin poles, vines, wires, trellises, or even shrubbery that you can place near the flowers.

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