CREATING A HUMMINGBIRD HABITAT
Whether you're designing a small nectar patch for visiting hummingbirds or planning a more elaborate hummingbird-friendly habitat, the following tips should help you get started.
A hummingbird habitat is a space where hummingbirds can find food resources (nectar and insects), shelter, resting areas, and nesting places. Flowering plants are the primary resources; however, the plants we utilize must have specific characteristics to attract and feed hummingbirds. The most important is that they must produce nectar.
While the word “habitat” may make you think of great expanses of untamed land, hummingbird habitats can actually be created in a wide variety of settings—and even with limited space! It is very important to provide urban spaces where gardens create small oases of vegetation and allow species to benefit when they inhabit or can pass through cities is very important.
TAKE STOCK
First, try to determine what times of year hummingbirds may be present in your area and whether they are primarily migrants passing through or if they are breeding or wintering birds that will remain longer. This will give you an idea of the most valuable times to provide a blooming nectar patch; some locations may only see hummingbirds for a few months, and others will host birds year-round.
Also, try to learn where your yard and neighborhood fit into the general scheme of things. Is it most like a desert wash, river valley, mountain conifer forest, rocky canyon, coastal bluff, mixed hardwood forest, or tropical deciduous forest? The better you understand your particular spot on the hummingbird map, the smarter plant choices you can make—even if you're simply adding a few container plants. Entirely different conditions can exist in close geographic proximity, such as a cool upper elevation forest and a desert flat. In such cases, choosing plants from similar habitats makes more sense than trying to grow a mountain wildflower in the desert just because it's native nearby.
If you are interested in learning more about the plants that you can add to your hummingbird garden, please visit our Hummingbird Plants page. Additionally, we recommend the following guides to help you get started:
WATERWORKS
…to attract hummingbirds! Dripping water especially attracts birds to move through the running water, and in desert regions it is a particularly welcome amenity. Traditional pedestal birdbaths are usually much too deep for the tiny birds, so add a flat rock or two to the basin to make part of it shallower or fashion a small in-ground concrete pool with gradually sloping sides and external edges. Be sure to locate the birdbath out in the open so predators are less able to sneak up, and with some dense and thorny protective cover nearby so that the birds will be safe while preening their feathers.
SAFETY CONSIDERATIONS
This section is as important as any! It does little good to go to the expense and effort to provide a haven for hummingbirds if our own carelessness or ignorance endangers their health and well-being.
To greatly reduce the chances of bacterial infection, scrub feeders out with hot water before refilling and changing the nectar solution every few days, especially when encountering hot or humid weather. Birdbaths, too, should be cleaned regularly.
Avoiding or limiting the use of insecticides in the garden is another important caveat. Beyond the potentially harmful effects of pesticide traces being ingested, hummingbirds consume enormous amounts of small insects in addition to flower nectar, and many that we consider garden pests, such as aphids, may constitute the bulk of the diet of most hummingbird nestlings. A relaxed attitude toward spider webs, often plundered for both nest materials and trapped insects, is a good idea too.
Perhaps the most consequential human-related threat to your hummingbird sanctuary is that posed by free-roaming domestic cats. Because of their family structure, with females typically the sole providers for rearing their young female, hummingbirds are particularly vulnerable to cat predation; if a breeding female is killed her, dependent nestlings will likely follow in suit, dying of starvation or exposure, effectively taking out three birds at once. Migrating hummingbirds that may be unfamiliar with humans let alone their pets are also at considerable risk. Keep your own cat indoors (where it will live much longer), and lend your support to TENVAC (Trap-Evaluate-Neuter-Vaccinate-Adopt-Contain) and other humane feral cat enclosure programs that seek to protect wildlife.
TIPS FOR A SUCCESSFUL HABITAT
•Add clumps of different plants with tubular blooms
•Choose plant species that bloom most of the year
•Choose native species and avoid the use of species that have invasive habits
•Include natural structures such as old trees or dead branches as perches
•Consider small water fountains
SPREAD THE WORD
Once you’ve gotten your hummingbird haven up and running, whether it’s an intimate grouping of container plants on your patio or a full-fledged hummingbird habitat, invite family, friends, and neighbors to enjoy the spectacle. The more of us that can be inspired to create oases for these winged jewels that so thoroughly fascinate us, the brighter their prospects for the future.
Nurseries
Nurseries play an essential role in preserving plant diversity. They even have the ability to support ecological interactions through restoration and conservation projects. One of the most important components is for nurseries to provide desirable, well-identified, and trusted planting material for restoration; However, there are still several obstacles to obtaining nursery-grown seedlings of a large set of genotypes and native species, this constituting a significant obstruction for advancing ecological restoration.
Establishing partnerships with native plant nurseries will help us improve local production and overcome production impediments such as a lack of available seeds or the knowledge of specific techniques for each species. On the other hand, some studies have shown success in the organization of cooperatives for nursery management as a profitable strategy for forest restoration and the management of natural resources in general.
As part of our restoration work area, the plants & nurseries support program aims to create a network of people interested in growing native plants and develop tools and materials to help their activities. If you are interested in starting a new nursery or increasing the availability of native nectar plants, please contact us!
Establishing partnerships with native plant nurseries will help us improve local production and overcome production impediments such as a lack of available seeds or the knowledge of specific techniques for each species. On the other hand, some studies have shown success in the organization of cooperatives for nursery management as a profitable strategy for forest restoration and the management of natural resources in general.
As part of our restoration work area, the plants & nurseries support program aims to create a network of people interested in growing native plants and develop tools and materials to help their activities. If you are interested in starting a new nursery or increasing the availability of native nectar plants, please contact us!
