Hummingbirds love to eat and must do so quite frequently in order to ensure their very survival. A hummingbird will feed about every 10 minutes with each feeding only lasting 30-60 seconds. Food is not only vital to the hummingbird’s very survival, but it as also a great way to attract the hummingbirds to feed in your yard. This post will examine the three methods of how to provide food for the birds.
Plants are the first method by which you can provide food for hummingbirds. A great thing to do is to plant on nectar-rich flowers on which the hummingbirds can feed. Yes, red is a color which is known to attract hummingbirds, but what is far more important is that the flowers you plant produce plenty of nectar. Some plants which are known to do this include the flowing: Bleeding hearts, impatiens, petunias, salvias, bee balm, columbine, cannas, and many others. If you want to attract the hummingbirds without the use of flowers then you can do so with the use of red or purple gazing balls which will also attract hummingbirds as well.
The use of nectar feeders is probably the most common way people use to try and attract hummingbirds to your yard. There are a wide range of feeder styles is available on the market today, including inverted tubes and saucer dishes. These feeders may come with wasp, hornet and ant guards, and they are often colored red to help attract hummingbirds. You may buy commercial nectar solution or make your own. I would recommend making your own because it is easy to do and far less expensive then the mix you buy. Also, the mix you buy may have red dye in it and this can be harmful to the hummingbirds.
Insects are also known to be an important part of the hummingbird’s diet because it provides a valuable source of protein to the bird. They also eat a large quantity of insects, including spiders. In order to draw the hummingbirds to backyard insects, you should avoid using pesticides or insecticides that will kill off this food source and choose flowering plants that are also attractive to insects.
2 replies on “Various Food Sources Will Attract Hummingbirds”
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