Hummingbirds will soon be leaving Hew Jersey and heading south.! Sightings in southern New Jersey began in early April and have since then spread across the state and beyond. You can easily recognize these tiny jewels flitting amongst sugar water feeders and flowers, especially red ones. Cardinal Flowers are a perfect match and are native in the Ruby-throated hummingbirds range. Flower nectar and feeders provide the fuel for hummingbirds to catch insects, like flies, which are the real source of nutrients. Salvias, Beebalm and many trumpet flowers are great for attracting hummingbirds.
You can easily tell the males by their bright ruby red throat patches (gorget) which can sometimes seem black in certain lighting and tend to be smaller than females. Females and juveniles lack the gorget, and can range from brilliant emerald, green to duller colors. With their rapid wing beats, it’s no surprise they are sometimes mistaken for insects. There is even a genus of moths, Hemaris, which contains species that resemble hummingbirds. A hummingbird’s aerial acrobatics are something to behold as they flit about their business with the ability to hover and even fly backwards.
You can attract hummingbirds by offering a sugar water solution of 4 parts water to 1 part table sugar in a plastic or glass feeder. Never add brown sugar, honey, color additives or anything else to the solution, as it is unnecessary for hummingbirds to find your feeder and could harm or kill them. Change the sugar water every 3-4 days. Any leftover solution should be stored in the refrigerator, good for up to 2 weeks.
Feeders with perches help hummingbirds save their energy while they feed. They spend a majority of their time perching to help lower their fuel costs. Feeders should be kept in shade to partial shade, as it helps keep the sugar water from spoiling quickly. Consider using an ant moat to keep out any unwanted insects. Many feeders have built in ant moats and bee guards, so keep an eye out for these features when you buy a hummingbird feeder. I find that the horizontal-orientated feeders are easier to clean than the vertical feeders, but a cleaning brush with a long handle should easily take care of that hassle. A smaller brush for the feeding ports is strongly encouraged as the ports will get dirty over time with use. If you have the feeder near a window, prevent potential window strikes of hummingbirds by putting window stickers up, or by adding blinds/curtains.
Hummingbirds can be territorial, so you may want to offer more than one feeder if you see several hummingbirds around. They may even chase other birds if they get too close, so I recommend have the sugar water feeder a decent distance from any other feeders you might have. I have seen my resident hummingbird stare down a catbird until a passerby startled them both.
Hummingbirds are very fun and rewarding to watch. If you haven’t fed wild birds ever, you might want to start with hummingbirds. While it may seem like there aren’t any around, you’d be surprised at what a little red can do.
You will have to wait until next April at this point if you are interested in attracting Hummingbirds to your yard. Cats and dogs generally keep birds of any type away. SO if you have either of them as pets you may find it difficult to attract them. In my opinion they are worth the try.
