For many people, having a hummingbird in their yards is always a reason to rejoice and feel more happiness at the sight of these beautiful birds. The feeling that overtakes you when you see a hummingbird inspecting your balcony is incomparable.
Many people try to attract hummingbirds to their balconies on purpose, but how does it be to see them as often as possible? This article will help you figure out how to attract hummingbirds to your balcony and enjoy seeing these beautiful tiny birds as often as possible.
What do hummingbirds look like?
Hummingbirds alike little colorful birds. These are very beautiful birds that have bright rainbow coats. They are very hyperactive, which always touches the hearts of any bird lover. They love hummingbird nectar very much and are constantly hunting for it.
They are very hard to lure in the open air. Hummingbirds are very tiny and beautiful garden dwellers. Hummingbirds often flutter along the hedge and collect bee balm. Most importantly, they are very curious creatures.
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The smallest hummingbirds can flap their wings over 50 times per second and are capable of migrating thousands of miles. Hummingbirds usually eat every 15 minutes, which means about 2,000 flowers every day!
In short, the main advice is: to create a continuous bloom of colorful flowers on your balcony, using several hummingbird feeders, while growing red and local varieties of flowers. Be sure to use the sugar water in your feeder. Set up and maintain a bird bath and perches. Also, make sure that you are planting flowers that are comfortable for the hummingbirds.
Nectar-rich nasturtiums are tubular and red or orange. Peonies, cardinals, and columbine are good at attracting hummingbirds. Also, remember that it will be very convenient for a hummingbird if you fill the installed bird feeder with homemade nectar.
Another essential attribute of your balcony should be water. Clean water is especially important here, so as not to harm the hummingbirds with diseased microbes.
Beware of pesticides! Hummingbirds actively eat insects and use webs for their nests. You should not harm the health of hummingbirds by using pesticides to spray flowers against insects.
The last important point: keep pets away from the balcony, especially cats. This is to ensure the safety of the hummingbirds.
Tips for bird feeders on attracting hummingbirds to your balcony
Install hummingbird feeder!
This is the most obvious and effective way to attract hummingbirds to your balcony. You must place the feeder correctly so that it is convenient for the local hummingbirds to fly in regularly and feast on nectar.
Nectar for hummingbirds is fairly easy to make, the only important thing is to fill the feeders with it regularly. Remember that it is very important to maintain the frequency and order of the feeder, as the hummingbirds will stop coming to dirty feeders due to contaminated nectar.
Position your hummingbird feeder out of direct sunlight, as the sun’s rays will make the nectar ferment very quickly.
How to understand that the bird feeder is dirty? It’s very simple. You will start noticing mold on it and in this case you should clean the feeder thoroughly with hot water and vinegar. It is better not to use chemical cleaners or strong detergents, as this will harm the birds and stop them from coming to your balcony.
You may be wondering: why feeders if I’m going to grow flowers? You will not have enough native flowers for all the hummingbirds. Growing flowers can go wrong, and they can always wilt. Here you will be rescued by feeders. They must be bright colors and interesting shapes for attracting hummingbirds.
Two or more feeders
Hummingbirds are small, but like any other bird, they can fight for food to defend their territory. Male hummers often drive other hummingbirds away at the sight of food. You can sometimes watch a picture when several hummers fight for nectar on your balcony.
In this case, it is important to install multiple bird feeders in different places. Multiple feeders will prevent the food fight or even scare the males away.
This is how you can set up: place several bird feeders on different sides of the house so that the hummingbirds have different places to feed. This will prevent males from taking over the territory, as there will be plenty of feeding places.
Another effective way can be to arrange several multiple feeders in one place, fencing them from each other. This way, arrogant male hummingbirds won’t be able to fight for a spot with a lot of hummingbirds.
Balcony bird bath
A bird bath will give you more luck attracting hummingbirds. They are very fond of swimming and playing in the water. The bath can be made to order or just bought in the store. The water mustn’t get too cold for the birds. To do this, set up some sort of water structure so that the water is constantly in motion.
You can also put a small ball in the birdbath so that the water constantly moves or some kind of pump or fountain. You will see a lot of hummingbirds on your balcony after installing such a facility!
Remember that the birdbath and drinker must be cleaned regularly with appropriate bird-safe disinfectants. Ordinary warm still water can become a haven for various bacteria.
Create a continuous flowering schedule
If you grow flowers with different flowering seasons, then you can be sure that your balcony will remain a beautiful and cozy place for hummingbirds all year round.
Hummingbirds are very attracted to continuously blooming flowers, which means that they will visit your balcony as often as possible, especially during the flowering period. Always ask your florist for information on flowering zones before purchasing a suitable plant.
Keep in mind that if you plant flowers and they stop blooming at some point in the summer, the hummers will no longer be able to get nectar from those flowers. This problem is solved by a variety of flowering flowers.
It’s enough just to have flowers that will bloom in the summer, and others in the spring. Pay attention to native flower species that bloom in certain seasons. This way you can help provide the hummingbirds with all the flowers they need all year round!
Create a perch
Hummingbirds are very calm birds due to their constant periods of activity and the amount of energy they expend. Creating a resting place for hummingbirds will help these birds significantly. You’ll be great at getting them on your side.
The perch helps the hummingbirds to rest and provides them with a vantage point to watch for dangers and hunt small insects. It is especially wonderful that making a perch for a hummingbird is very easy!
It is enough to stick a dry branch in the ground in an upright position. It helps a lot if the perch is next to the feeder. It is recommended to use dry branches so that everything is natural.
Hummingbirds love the color red
Hummingbirds are especially attracted to the color red, which means you need to plant more red flowers to get attention.
Perhaps a better solution would be to make the feeders red as well to attract more hummingbirds.
Hummingbirds also prefer yellow flowers, but never blue ones, as other birds will see them too.
Hummingbirds prefer the color red because their cones in the retina are yellow to red. Thus, these colors act as a kind of filter that enhances the hummingbird’s visual perception. They are much less detectable shades of blue. Don’t forget that the tubular form of the red flowers contains more nectares and is very convenient for hummingbirds.
Trim your flowers
If you regularly remove wilted flowers or seed heads from balcony plants, the flowers themselves will be much healthier and will bloom actively several times a year. These activities will attract hummers, as the withering red flowers are less bright and colorful, and will also reduce the aesthetic appeal of your balcony.
Thus, the more aesthetically pleasing your balcony is and the more actively the flowers bloom on it, the more hummingbirds you will attract.
It may take some time on your part, but your flowers must flourish and hummingbirds to fly. Also, a nice bonus awaits you in the form of the most attractive balcony in the area!
Plant flowers that hummingbirds love
Any living being can be attracted by providing it with a plentiful food source. For many hummingbirds, such food is nectar, which is rich in red or yellow tubular flowers. Among these flowers are Aquilegia sp, Garden Phlox, Paeonia sp, Hibiscus, Bee Balm, Cardinal Flower, Cape honeysuckle, and Yellow bells.
It’s best to always keep a variety of flower types on the balcony. Including local flowers in the list of flowers will help you a lot with this. Many hummingbirds will always prefer native flower species because they are more familiar to them than ornamental ones. You will provide the hummingbirds with a large flow of natural food.
It is important to follow the planting guidelines for whatever flowers you choose. Always choose balcony plants not only for their appearance, but also for their flowering characteristics, seasonality, ability to provide more nectar, and ease of growing. The ideal choice is a varied blooming bouquet.
Sugar water in feeders
This is one of the easiest ways to attract hummingbirds to the outdoors. By hanging homemade nectar feeders, you will soon be able to see hummingbirds on your balcony. Usually, hummingbirds feed on nectar only from flowers, but they adapt very quickly and visit any place rich in natural fructose.
To make a good nectar mix, simply mix one cup of sugar with four cups of warm water. As soon as the sugar dissolves, pour this raster into the feeder and place it on the balcony next to something red or in the red feeder.
Warm water is recommended because sugar, salt, and other soluble substances dissolve faster in it. Some balcony owners mix in red dye, which is not recommended in order not to adversely affect the birds with chemicals.
No pesticides!
Hummingbirds and their cubs are very fond of eating small insects, and also very often use cobwebs when building their nests. Unfortunately, the number of insects worldwide is noticeably declining, which is caused by the widespread use of pesticides. Many birds have impaired reproductive function and health due to chemicals in their diets.
Pesticides are a big hazard to hummingbirds, so it’s best to keep them out of balconies. You’ll also help the local ecosystem by not killing beneficial garden insects, which include spiders, bees, and butterflies.
It will be much more difficult for you to refuse pesticides if their use is part of your building maintenance, but you can always ask your like-minded neighbors for help because pesticides are harmful to humans too!
No cats!
Cats are extremely dangerous for small birds. Along with collisions with windows, cats are the second most important threat to hummingbirds. Although hummingbirds look very fast and agile, they can still be attacked by cats, as well as other birds, as if they were in flight or on a perch.
Make sure to keep the cat at a safe distance so that it doesn’t walk around near the feeder and can’t hunt birds.
To do this, place the hummingbird feeder as high as possible so that the cat cannot climb onto tall plants or structures where the feeder is located. Be sure to create an area with thorny plants to prevent your cat from jumping onto the feeder.
This will also protect the cat itself, as a lot of fatal falls of cats happen due to hunting for birds. If you protect your windows, both hummingbirds and cats will be safe.
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FAQs
Will hummingbirds feed on a balcony?
Of course! If you have planted flowers correctly (choose red and orange ones), take care of them regularly, and give preference to local flowers, then hummingbirds will immediately want to feast on nectar. You can also make homemade nectar by putting it in a red feeder to attract even more hummingbirds.
How do I attract hummingbirds to my porch?
Use plenty of red and yellow to attract hummingbirds. The better you take care of the plants on your balcony, as well as your feeder and tub, the more hummingbirds you will attract.
What are hummingbirds most attracted to?
Red and yellow color, the possibility of bathing in the birdbath, as well as a large number of well-blooming flowers, with a lot of nectar.
Conclusion
There are so many things you can do to try and attract hummingbirds to your balcony! It is necessary to make a lot of effort to give the birds what they want.
By following all these tips regularly, you will help the hummingbirds overcome the many difficulties on their way that human civilization has presented to them. And most importantly, you will be pleased to watch how your balcony was chosen by dozens of incredibly beautiful small birds!
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