How to make your yard irresistible to hummingbirds

Nothing brightens up a garden like a hummingbird.

The rufous hummingbird is common in western North America. By early fall, hummingbirds migrate to Central America. However, those living in coastal California, Oregon and Washington can enjoy Anna’s hummingbird year-round.

Hummingbirds expend a lot of energy. They can beat their wings up to 80 times a second during normal flight and up to 200 times per second during a courtship dive.

Hummingbirds have a heart rate that can reach up to 1,200 beats per minute. With all this movement, hummingbirds need to eat more than their weight in food each day. So how can you help hummingbirds fulfill their food needs when they eat about every 10 minutes?

Hummingbirds feed on plant nectar. Thanks to their elongated bills and long, forked tongues, hummingbirds are able to sip the nectar from tubular flowers. With a strong preference for those that happen to be red, they will visit other flowers of various colors, too.

To better attract these birds, avoid using pesticides in your yard. Spiders and insects such as mosquitoes, aphids and gnats are an important part of an adult bird’s diet, and young hummers are fed them almost exclusively. Pesticide residue in or on these food sources can have devastating consequences.

If you want to make sure you’ll see hummingbirds, get a hummingbird feeder. Fill feeders with homemade nectar by combining 1 part sugar with 4 parts water.

Heat the water, dissolve the sugar and then let the mixture come to room temperature before filling the feeder. Make sure your feeder is clean, and rinse it out each time you refill it. In the summer, do this about every two to four days.

Don’t let the solution get cloudy. Never use honey, which promotes the growth of harmful bacteria. Also, avoid artificial sweeteners and red food coloring.

Some suitable annuals include various salvia species, fuchsia, impatiens, petunia, nasturtium, nicotiana, begonia, geranium, hibiscus and lantana.