Hummingbirds In Your Yard

Hummingbirds In Your Yard

Hummingbirds are one of the smallest birds in the world. Their beautiful colors and hovering flight make them a very welcome addition in anyones yard. Hummingbirds have also been pets for many years. Even though you don't see it very often today they are an intelligent bird that supposedly adapt well to captivity.

But hummingbirds are easy to attract to your yard which makes it easier to them, then it would be if you keep one in a cage. It also gives you the opportunity to view more birds and really get the chance to see how they behave naturally in their own environment. Hummingbirds are smart, playful, and easy to attract to your yard.

There are two basic ways to attract hummingbirds. Both are easy and depending on where you live, one is permanent. The first and easiest is to use hummingbird feeders. These are different from regular bird feeders in that they supply a nectar type food or sugar water as opposed to seeds and suet. Hummingbirds get the energy they need to maintain their astonishing metabolism primarily from flower nectar and the sugar water they find at feeders. For protein and other nutrients, they also eat soft-bodied insects and spiders.

There are many styles of hummingbird feeders available today. They are sold in a variety of stores ranging from birding shops and garden centers to discount marts, as well as by mail order. Most feeders are made of plastic, glass, or ceramics.

Feeders are a recent development for hummingbirds to recognize instinctively as food sources. They must learn to use them, which they do from watching other hummingbirds and though their own natural inquisitiveness. If your birds seem to prefer one style feeder over another, it's probably just a matter of familiarity. If you change feeders, they may not feed immediately from the new one, but they will adapt. It may help to hang the old feeder empty, next to the new one.

Where do you hang your feeder? A new one may be found sooner if hung over or near a garden of hummingbird plants. Many place their feeders by windows where they can watch the hummingbirds as they feed, relatively close up.

Some people feel that a hummingbird feeder should not be placed close to a window unless there's a curtain or blind behind it. This can avoid injury from striking the glass. Other ways to alert birds that the window is not a clear flyway are to add cutouts of birds, other other objects that will show glass is there. I have mini-blinds that seem to be a good deterrent even when tilted open.

The second way to attract hummingbirds is to grow plants in your garden or yard that hummingbirds feed on. If you plan carefully and select a variety of plants that flower at successively later dates, you will be rewarded with happy hummingbirds throughout the season. Using pesticides around hummingbird plants is a very bad idea. Killing garden pests will also eliminate the small insects hummingbirds rely upon for protein. In addition, hummingbirds might directly ingest pesticides sprayed onto flowers, which could sicken or kill the birds.

Since hummingbirds like most other birds have virtually no sense of smell, the flowers that attract them tend to have little or no fragrance. Apparently they direct their resources instead toward high visibility and nectar production. Note also that cultivated hybrids often make much less nectar than wild strains. You should visit your local nursery for suggestions specific to your climate and area when selecting plants for attracting hummingbirds.

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