How to Attract Hummingbirds

Watching hummingbirds bounce around feeding in your backyard can be a transcendent experience. What plants will attract those magical birds? Hummingbirds love Giant Hyssop/Agastache, Desert Willow, Rocky Mountain Penstemon, Scarlet Gilia and Hummingbird Trumpet, which are all native to Santa Fe. Orange Trumpet Creeper have aerial rootlets that can eventually break a bit of wood, stone and brick, but Red-throated Hummingbirds will flock.

I like to hang hummingbird feeders out before the spring flowers bloom. The Wild Birds Unlimited recipe is 4 parts water to 1 part white table sugar - boil, cool then serve. No need for food coloring. Change out the nectar twice a week - the fresher it is, the more bird action you’ll get. It’s suggested that you clean your feeder once a week to prevent bacteria from forming. Locating feeders and plants at least three feet from windows will help keep birds from colliding into them.

This Hummingbird Photo Guide can help you identify which type of hummingbirds are visiting you. If you are in Santa Fe and it is March or April it could be one of the following: Broad-tailed Hummingbird, Black-chinned Hummingbird, Rufous Hummingbird or a Calliope Hummingbird.