Hummingbirds are Worth the Wait

Waiting for something often makes it more exciting.

This is especially true as you anticipate the first glimpse of a hummingbird each spring. The excitement of their arrival at your feeders is guaranteed to bring joy to your heart and a smile to your face.

So be patient and rest assured that hummingbirds are on their way.

Their arduous 2,000 mile journey from Central America will finally end in your own backyard! Indeed, you have won the lottery…and the payout is that these beautiful jewels will continue to brighten your world until the end of summer.

Whether you are on the lookout for Ruby-throated Hummingbirds in the east or Black-chinned, Rufous or Broad-tailed in the west, providing nectar feeders and a variety of appropriate native plants is your best bet to entice these summer visitors.

But not all hummingbirds are on the move.

If you are lucky enough to reside in the far west, you may be hosting a family by now. Hummingbirds such as Costa’s, Anna’s and Allen’s are already busy raising their youngsters. Your anticipation now turns to seeing a glimpse of a newly fledged hummingbird making its first visit to your feeder.

Be it a juvenile or adult hummingbird, watching them at the feeder is always a special treat.

Watch as they fan their tail and dart at one another. Check for a hint of yellow pollen on their forehead from the flowers they have visited. Listen for their chittering or squeaking calls and the incessant hum of their wings. Observe their tongue moving in and out of their bill up to 12 times per second as they lap up the sweet nectar.

Hummingbirds do not feed by sucking up nectar with their bills. They feed by using their forked, open-grooved tongue to draw the nectar into their mouth with every lapping action.

A great way to see this amazing tongue in action is to use a Wild Birds Unlimited Hummingbird Feeder or a WBU Window Hummingbird Feeder. Due to these feeders’ clear plastic bases, you will actually be able to witness the rapid lapping action of your hummingbird visitors.

So many reasons to be impatient for their return…but the payoff is always well worth the wait.

For more information, be sure to check out the WBU Nature Centered Podcast episode, “Hooray for Hummingbirds.” Our entertaining experts, John and Brian, will share how to have even more joy by attracting and watching your hummingbirds.

Attracting Hummingbirds

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Hummingbird Nectar

The WBU recommendation for hummingbird nectar is a 4:1 ratio; 4 parts water to 1 part sugar. The overwhelming recommendation in the industry for making hummingbird nectar is a solution of 4 parts water to 1 part white table sugar (sucrose). This concentration has proven safe and attractive to hummingbirds. It also mimics the natural concentration (20%) of the average natural nectar sources on which hummingbirds feed.

There is some concern that increasing the ratio beyond 3:1 may cause dehydration and kidney damage in hummingbirds due to the lower concentration of water in the solution. While we have been unable to find a definitive research document to confirm this, we believe being cautious is the best approach for now.

Another advantage to the 4:1 concentration is that hummingbirds will feed more frequently on a weaker solution than on a stronger one. Thus they may visit your feeder 10 to 12 times an hour in comparison to three or four times an hour with a richer solution.

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Red Dyes, Additives & Preservatives

Equally important, red dyes should not be added to the sugar water. There is concern over the possible health effects of these dyes and other additives. Owing to the volume of nectar they ingest everyday, and their potential life span of 5-10 years, the long-term health effects of the dyes on the hummingbird's digestive system are not fully known.

We have done extensive research while reviewing numerous nectar products and we have found no additives and/or preservatives that we can confirm as being proven completely safe for hummingbirds.

Unfortunately, in dealing with the controversy over red dye in nectar, the research simply does not exist to identify, prove or disprove any of the potential health impacts that these additives may have on hummingbirds.

Until research and testing provides more reliable information, our recommendation for helping to attract hummingbirds to feeders without any red coloration is to place the feeders in areas planted with known hummingbird nectar plants and/or tie red colored ribbon onto the feeder to catch the attention of the hummingbirds in the area.

Sugar Alternatives

Nectar should always be made from common table sugar (sucrose) as it is the closest possible duplicate of natural flower nectar. We do not recommend sugar alternatives such as honey, artificial sweeteners, raw sugar, organic sugar, brown sugar or agave nectar. They contain ingredients that may be directly harmful or could build-up with regular feeding and become harmful to hummingbirds.

Oriole Nectar

The WBU recommendation for oriole nectar is a 4:1 ratio; 4 parts water to 1 part sugar. There is no industry standard for oriole nectar. Cornell Lab of Ornithology is of the opinion to offer a 4:1 solution out of convenience based on the fact that they have not run across any research on the topic and orioles have been observed drinking from hummingbird feeders. They mention this ratio on their Project Feeder Watch web site.

Furthermore, orioles are more effectively attracted to feeders when offered multiple food options. They are known to enjoy orange slices, grape jelly and mealworms offered from tray-style feeders. They will even use the protein-rich mealworms to feed their nestlings.