Luring the Hummingbird Home

To attract hummingbirds to your back yard or apartment balcony, put up hummingbird feeders or plant flowers they prefer--honeysuckle, trumpet vine, fuchsia, salvia, lantana, chuparosa (the Spanish word for hummingbird), columbine, coral belle or shrimp plant.

Fill the hummingbird feeder with a solution of four parts water and one part white sugar. Boil the water first, then dissolve the sugar and let the mixture cool before placing it in the feeder. You don’t need to add red food coloring since most feeders are red.

Hang the feeder in a sunny location. Do not use artificial sweeteners, because the birds won’t get needed nutrition. Don’t use honey, either. It ferments quickly, which can cause a potentially fatal infection.

During hot weather, change the solution and clean the feeder thoroughly with soap and water at least weekly.