10 Super Easy Ways to Attract Hummingbirds in Minnesota

I have been anxiously awaiting for one specific sign of spring to finally arrive in Minnesota.  As soon as I see it, I know extended days of sunshine and sitting on my deck aren't too far away.  Mosquitos too but we are going to block that from our minds right now.

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If you love hummingbirds, the good news is that they have started to arrive in Minnesota!  I have a few tips for you below to help you attract these miniature birds in your yard.  And the tips work too because I was standing next to my patio door last night and happened to be there at the perfect time.  The most adorable hummingbird was drinking out of our feeder for a very long time.  I joked that it just got done with its flight and needed to fuel up.  I caught it on camera and posted it on my Facebook page - Jessica On The Radio.

Great Website To Check And See When Hummingbirds Are Arriving in Minnesota

I always keep tabs this time of year to see when I should make sure I have my feeders out for the hummingbirds.  The website, HummingbirdCentral.com, makes it really easy to track them.

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10 Tips To Attract Hummingbirds to Minnesota Yards

If you'd love to have hummingbirds appear in your yard this year, try these 10 tips to make your outdoor areas the place they call home.

• 1) BUY RED FLOWERS:  Hummingbirds love the color red!  Plant this color of flowers in all of your flower beds and incorporate it into your hanging baskets too.

• 2) GET A HUMMINGBIRD FEEDER.  Add this to your outdoor area now because the hummingbirds are ready to feast.

• 3)  CHANGE THE NECTAR IN THE HUMMINGBIRD FEEDER OFTEN.  According to backyardecology.net, the recommendation is to clean and refill the feeder at least once a week in the summer.  There is a pretty good chance that in the middle of the summer the sugar water will need to be replaced every day.  Keep an eye on it and be sure to rinse and clean it in between fillings too.  Obviously, if you see mold or cloudiness in the nectar, it needs to be thoroughly cleaned and replaced.

• 4) DO NOT USE RED FOOD DYE OR COLORING IF YOU MAKE YOUR OWN NECTAR.  Fyi, it is really easy to make your own.  This is something I do every week and it takes less than 5 minutes.  Just make sure you do not add red food dye or coloring.  As you saw from my video above, the hummingbirds do not need that and it can actually harm them.  Here's the recipe to make your own nectar:  boil 4 cups of water, pour in 1 cup of sugar, mix, let cool, and pour into the hummingbird feeder.

• 5) KEEP YOUR HUMMINGBIRD FEEDER CLEAN.  Not sure how they find it but ants LOVE the nectar in hummingbird feeders.  Be sure to clean out the feeder every once in awhile so it is fresh and void of dead ants and bugs.

• 6) TIE RED RIBBONS AND BOWS IN TREES AND BUSHES.  The photo above is a bit overboard but helps you get the idea.  Adding a few red bows or ribbons is a great addition that hummingbirds love.

• 7) PLANT TREES AND BUSHES FOR THE BIRDS TO USE AS PERCHES.  I love watching to see where the hummingbirds go after they visit our feeders.  Usually, they fly to a tree near our deck and sit on the same branch.  They do this almost every time.  It looks like they rest for a bit, come back, and then fly back...over and over again.

• 8) HANG MULTIPLE FEEDERS.  We have three feeders at our house this year.  The birds establish territories so having feeders with some distance between them is also important.

• 9) HAVE A WATER SOURCE NEARBY.  This could be a bird bath or even another bird feeder with water.

• 10) HAVE A PROTEIN FEEDER FOR THE HUMMINGBIRDS.  We haven't added this to our house yet but am curious if this helps attract more hummingbirds to our house.  Last year, we had 3 pretty regular birds that loved to visit daily.  The recommendation is to use a feeder that can hold a banana.  As that ripens, fruit flies appear that hummingbirds can then eat for protein.