Category: Hummingbird Food

As a hummingbird enthusiast, my mom knew that  hummingbirds like plants which are rich in nectar.  Each year she would look for new plants to add to that year’s collection which were intended to try and entice the hummingbirds to our yard.  There was often no telling what mom’s choices would be, but you could be assured that the choices would be very bright and colorful, and that there would be plenty of the flowers and plants that were commonly known to attract hummingbirds in our area of the country. Even though mom knew that the hummingbirds liked plants rich in nectar, I doubt that she ever wondered which one produces the highest volume of nectar per bloom.  Regardless of this fact,  if she were still alive today, I know that she would be interested in the answer that I am now able to give all of you who read this post.  

According to the Hummingbird Society, the Trumpet Creeper is known for producing the highest volume of nectar per bloom.  If you choose to grow Trumpet Creeper, you will want to trim back the vines of it each fall to help ensure that you create a short plant that has many blooms.

Prior to doing some research for this post, I had never before heard of Trumpet Creeper, but I can now see why it would be a favorite with the hummingbirds, because the hummingbird is known to select the flower that has the highest nectar output and richest concentration of sugars, regardless of the shape or color of the flower.

I do not know if my mom had ever heard of Trumpet Creeper or not, but if she had heard of it, I feel certain that it would have eventually made it in to our yard in the hope of attracting the hummingbirds.  So, if this plant will grow in your area of the country, why not consider placing it in your yard?  The hummingbirds will be extremely glad you did and I’m sure you will be too.

Here in southeast Texas the most commonly seen hummingbird is the Ruby-throated Hummingbird.  Like most hummingbirds, they seem to always be feeding or in flight.  Even though this is not true it caused me to wonder just how much food does a Ruby-throated Hummingbird need to survive a typical day.  The answer may surprise you as much as it did me. 

As amazing as this sounds, on a typical day, a Ruby-throated Hummingbird only requires 10 calories of food to survive.  Can you believe how few calories they need to make it through the day, mom?  That seem like an incredibly small amount, because you would think that they would burn far more then that per day with their seemingly high, non-stop activity levels. Sugar water and flower nectar will provide this in the form of carbohydrates or they will gain this in the form of fats or protein which is gotten through the eating of tiny insects or spiders.

Wouldn’t it be nice if we as human beings could survive on only needing 10 calories per day?  You would have loved that mom because then you could have gotten away with cooking far less often. Also, we would certainly all eat far less per day and therefore likely loose weight far more easily.

Now on a personal note, I must apologize for not having made a post in the past few days.  This was due to the fact that I was suffering from an extremely bad migraine headache that struck without warning and forced me to remain in  bed until today.

I can remember sitting on the back porch of my parents’ home watching the hummingbirds feed.  It often seemed that the hummingbirds would never stop eating and my mom and I would often wonder if the hummingbirds would overeat.  I have since learned that although hummingbirds do eat a great deal, about five to eight times and hour, they do not eat until they are fill at every opportunity.  I have also discovered a great deal else about the importance of proper hummingbird feeding that I’d like to share with you.

Mom, the hummingbird will use an enormous amount of energy each day and will therefore require one and one half times its body weight in nectar to meet its daily energy needs.  The nectar on which the hummingbird feeds  will be digested in only 20 minutes and pass entirely through the hummingbird’s digestive system.  With the enormous amount of fluid that a hummingbird will intake each day, a hummingbird’s daily urine output may exceed 80 percent of its body weight per day.

So mom, even though it often appeared that the hummingbirds would overeat, I now understand that this isn’t going to occur because of the enormous amount of energy that the hummingbird must expend, how quickly the nectar is digested and the amount of urine that is excreted per day.

Whenever I see a hanging basket filled with brightly colored flowers it always makes me think of my mom and her love of flowers and hummingbirds.  Each spring and summer, my mom would always plant a wide variety of flowers in various colors in hanging baskets all throughout the yard as yet another way to try and entice the hummingbirds to continue to visit and remain in our yard.  This was just something mom did in addition to having other plants and feeders all throughout the yard to help attract the hummingbirds,  Mom just loved beautiful flowers and if they helped attract the hummingbirds to the yard that was just the added bonus of her efforts and she thoroughly enjoyed watching the aerial displays and such put on by the hummingbirds.

Mom didn’t have a particular favorite flower to use in her hanging baskets.  She just liked to make sure that the flowers she chose offered a wide variety of color.  While red is a color that hummingbirds can see at a distance and that these birds are quite attracted to, the flowers you select can come in many colors including yellow, purple and pink.

My mom also wanted the flowers she selected to have the longest bloom time possible.  She wanted to be able to enjoy the beauty of her flowers for as long as possible and she knew that this was also a good way to try and provide another source of nectar for the hummingbirds apart from the use of hummingbird feeders.

The plants my mom selected for her hanging baskets also usually had staggered bloom times, because it would allow the hummingbirds a source on nectar for an extended period of time as well as providing a source of color and beauty for a longer period of time.

The use of hanging baskets is a simple and effective way to try and attract hummingbirds.  You can use it if you have limited space but still want to try and attract hummingbirds to your yard or in addition to a full sized hummingbird garden or the use of hummingbird feeders. 

Our yard was always full of hanging baskets in the spring and summer.  It not only helped to make the yard much more colorful and beautiful but it also served as an effective enticement which drew the hummingbirds to our yard.  To this very day, whenever I see a hanging basket I am reminded of its beauty and I cannot help but also think of the hummingbirds that would visit our yard as a result of the hanging baskets.  Thanks for this mom!