There are numerous sites on the Web devoted to this subject, so I won’t go into great detail on what types of flowers etc, but I describe the feeders I use here.
Flowers:
Hummingbirds (contrary to popular opinion) do not only feed from ‘tubular’ flowers. They will investigate just about any type of flower, and if it produces nectar, they will return to it. Large areas of small, bright flowers will soon have them buzzing around (along with bees, unfortunately!).
Myths:
“Hummingbirds will only come to a feeder if it has red sugar water”
This is absolute nonsense, and in fact, some of the commercial red hummingbird nectar powders that you find at DIY and garden stores has been proven to be carcinogenic to the birds. Avoid this stuff at all costs. While it is true that most hummers generally exhibit a preference for the color red, they will quickly return to anything that is providing a good supply of sugar water.
“Hummingbirds become dependent upon feeders”
Again, utter nonsense. We have a summer population of somewhere between 80 and 100 birds, and they could all choose to feed only at our feeders. Truth is, you can put a feeder in the garden in amongst some flowers, and the birds will visit the flowers almost as much as the feeder. They (like us) choose the lowest hanging fruit. If you take down feeders for a day or two, they will hang around for a while wondering what has happened, then return less and less frequently to see if the feeder has been put up again. After a day or two, they hardly visit, meaning it takes a good few days for them to reappear once the feeder has been replenished.
