Extreme Drought Advisory: Help Your Hummingbirds!

Many residents in our area have reported a recent increase in activity at their hummingbird feeders, because the drought has destroyed hummingbirds’ main source of food: nectar laden flowers.

Millions of hummingbirds have started their southward migration, and providing hummingbird feeders to help them along their way is more critical than ever this year.

You can help by offering a nectar solution placed in specially-designed hummingbird feeders. The simple recipe for this nectar solution is mixing four parts of water to one part of common table sugar. We advise against adding red food coloring. Instead, pour the clear nectar solution into a red-colored feeder.

Place the feeder in a shaded location and change the nectar every 2-3 days to help prevent spoilage. Multiple feeders will help to minimized squabbles and reduce crowding.

At this time each year, the migrating waves of hummingbirds that visit our feeders provide the most spectacular viewing opportunity of the season. During the peak of migration, bird banding studies indicate that, with very few exceptions, the hummingbirds that visit feeders on any given late-summer day are completely replaced by a new set of migrants every 24 hours.

Research has also discovered that for every 10 individual hummingbirds you see at you feeder at one time, you will actually have about 50 hummingbirds pass through your yard on that same day. And this year, it is likely to be a higher number as the reduced amount of natural nectar sources drives more migrants towards feeders to re-fuel.

It's a Great Idea to Add More Hummingbird Feeders to Your Yard Until These Extreme Conditions Subside!