How to Attract Hummingbirds to Florida Gardens
Hummingbirds are More Common in Florida than Most People Think
Oct 20, 2009
Bob Paxson, a member of the Space Coast Audubon Society group in Merritt Island, Florida is one local gardener who has proven otherwise. Paxson has created a landscape that features a wide variety of plant species that are favorites for attracting hummingbirds.
Hummingbirds Visit Year Round in Florida
Within a year of starting to plant some hummingbird favorites, such as firebush, fire spike, shrimp plant and salvia, Paxson began to see the birds in his yard. “We have seen them every month of the year since we have been gardening for them,” Paxson said. “The most we have had in our yard at one time was October 2003 when we counted six.”
Although there are more than 338 known species of hummingbirds in the Americas, only about sixteen of those are found in the United States. Only one species, the ruby throated hummingbird, is considered common east of the Mississippi. However, statistics are beginning to show that more and more species of what are considered to be western hummingbirds actually do visit Florida.
“Each year there are more and more reports of hummingbirds moving into Florida,” Paxson said. “Ten years ago, there were reports of only three species of hummingbirds being spotted in Florida. Now that number has jumped to 8 or 9.”
Paxon thinks part of the increase in Florida sightings might be because of rapid development in Mexico, where hummingbirds have historically migrated to in the winter. “They used to spend winters in Mexico, but there has been so much deforestation there that the birds are wandering up into Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi and Florida now.”
Since Paxon and his wife Connie are enthusiastic birders, they have placed plants and feeders in optimum locations throughout their property so they can catch sight of the visiting hummers. But even with all their plants and feeders, it still takes a quick eye to catch sight of a hummer.
“A lot of the time you hear them before you see them,” Paxson said. “They sit up in the trees and make a little chattering noise, so you know they are there. But it is still sometimes hard to spot them.”
This difficulty in spotting hummingbirds is easy to understand when you realize how small they really are. “The ruby-throated "hummer", which is the most common species to Brevard, is only about 3 inches long and weighs about one-quarter of an ounce (about as much as a penny),” Paxson said. “During the times that they aren’t feeding, they are usually sitting in a tree somewhere keeping an eye on their food source. Trying to spot a three inch bird sitting at the top of a large oak or other tree is part of the reason most people don’t see them.”
Steps to Attract Hummingbirds
So how does someone lure hummingbirds to their garden? Think red!
“Hummingbirds seek food entirely by sight,” Paxson said. “They may be flying 500 feet overhead during migration and they look down and see a patch of green, and it catches their eye. Then, if they see red, they zoom in for a closer look.”
Hummingbirds are attracted to plants by color, not by scent. They prefer red, orange and pink tubular flowers but may also feed on certain blue and yellow plant species. Hummingbirds are very territorial, so hummingbird plants and feeders should be spaced in separate groupings around your yard and at varying heights, starting at about 18” above the ground. Since hummingbirds feed in flight, they need plenty of room around the flowers to accommodate their movements. Hummingbirds spend about 80% of their time sitting and keeping an eye on their food source, so trees and shrubs should be planted within sight of the feeders.
Nectar feeders can be used as supplemental food sources and can be purchased at many local garden centers. A simple nectar can be made by combining 1 part granulated sugar to 4 parts water in a saucepan and boiling for two minutes. Let the mixture cool completely before filling feeders. You can refrigerate excess nectar for up to one week. Be sure and replace the mixture every couple of days because bacterial growth in the nectar solution is potentially fatal to the hummingbirds.
To be able to observe hummingbirds, try to position your gardens or feeders so that they can be viewed from an inside window.
“They’re sneaky,” Paxson says. “They can come in and feed every 15 minutes or so and unless you are sitting right there, you won’t even know it.”
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