Do you have hummingbirds around your place? If not, there are ways to attract them and make it most appealing to them to come visit.
Since most hummingbirds are migratory, it’s possible that if you don’t have any around right now, depending on the season they probably all left town for sunny warmer climates. Once you know what types of hummingbirds live in your area it’ll be a lot easier to find out when they will be back. In most areas it tends to be around May.
Planting as many hummingbird attractive perennial plants as possible in your garden is the key to attracting them over the long term. There is a list of recommended flowers here. They are attracted by red flowers mostly but will feed from any colour flower that’s available with nectar.
Fuchsia is probably their most favourite and they will definitely come to your garden if you have that one. They also love Hosta, Monarda and Delphinium among so many others. I recommend hanging up a feeder also, this will help attract them before the flowers are ready.
Once you do begin to see them in your garden they will be very skittish and and leave quickly if they feel in danger. Considering their size, I think most things would be seen as a danger to them.
If you have dogs or cats around and outside, that might be enough to scare the birds off and they won’t come to your garden at all.
If you have the option, a really good place to hang a hummingbird feeder is outside of a window that you can reach the feeder through and under the overhang of a second story.
Hanging it under the second story is important, this will allow the birds to stay well away from any pets that you might have around that could be deterring them. It’s also sheltered from the weather that way too.
There are a few other things that might deter them as well. If there are no trees or shrubs nearby for them to land on and hide in, then they’ll likely not feel safe enough to venture out to your feeder.
Another one is if there is widespread use of pesticides nearby, then that will kill all of their other food sources like the little flying insects they also feed on. If there is no other food nearby, they won’t likely hang around very long.
Hopefully, you can create an environment in your yard that will be most attractive to them and they will stay and come back again and again throughout the year.
If you consistently feed them and offer sanctuary, they might even begin to nest nearby your yard. What kind of hummingbirds do you have in your area?
