Hummingbirds galore: how to attract the birds to your backyard

Like clockwork, hummingbirds have begun to arrive in the suburbs as summer nears.

Native ruby-throated hummingbirds typically arrive in early May and grace the area with their presence in increasing numbers through the summer months and into mid-October.

Ron Zick, owner of Wild Birds Unlimited stores in Arlington Heights and Glenview, offered some tips to attract the birds and keep them coming back.

Keep it simple

According to Zick, the best thing that people can do to attract hummingbirds is to put out a sugar-water feeder without any food coloring.

The sugar nectar, which can be made with four parts water and one part table sugar, can spoil quickly. Zick recommended that people either change the nectar every other day or buy a product like Nectar Defender that keeps the nectar fresh longer.

In terms of the feeder itself, Zick said the best choices are bowl feeders with a cover on top, without excess holes in the bottom or sides where nectar can drip out.

Let the bugs be

Ants and spiders are great food sources for hummingbirds. Spiders also are important for the hummingbird habitat, as the birds use spiderwebs to build their nests.

Zick advised against insecticide and said some methods of keeping ants out of feeders, such as putting Vaseline on parts of the feeder, should be avoided because of potential harm to hummingbirds. Basic ant traps that drip water from above the feeder are the only kind that Zick recommended, but he said even those are not necessary.

Add some color

According to Zick, putting out a basket of tubular red flowers, such as honeysuckle, cardinal flower, fuchsia and trumpet vine, ideally ones already in bloom, can help attract hummingbirds. Planting wildflowers also is a great choice, and Zick said that hummingbirds like to nest in dense foliage and evergreen shrubs and plants.

Be patient

Hummingbirds are beginning to appear now, but they won’t reach their peak population until well into the summer.

Zick said it’s normal for hummingbirds not to be attracted right away, but he encouraged people to stick with it. He called the birds fearless and said feeders can be placed close to the house for easy viewing.

“We will see hummingbirds all the way through the middle part of October,” Zick said. “People will notice a crescendo of increase in hummingbird activity at the feeders as summer goes on.”