Hummingbirds are on their way back to Wisconsin! If you're humming with excitement, you're not alone! Hummingbirds are a beloved species regardless of where you live, and for the Wisconsinites waiting for their return each spring, nothing is more exciting than seeing the first Ruby-throated Hummingbird of the year.
If you love hummers and put out a hummingbird feeder, these are your Top 5 To-Do (and Don’t-Do) items to keep these little beauties happy and healthy in your yard.
Photo by Phil Brown
Top 5 To-Do (and Don’t-Do) List for Hummingbirds this spring
1. Keep dyes out of the sugar water. The dye is not only unnecessary, it is actually harmful to the hummingbird.
2. Provide a water-and-cane-sugar-only solution. Mix 4-parts water to 1-part sugar. Honey, fake sugar, etc. hurt hummingbirds in a big way.
3. Keep the sugar water clean. You don't like to eat moldy food, neither do hummingbirds. Keep bacteria out by providing fresh, clean sugar water every day or two (if it's hot out, it needs to be changed daily).
4. Keep the feeder away from windows. Window collisions kill up to a BILLION birds every year, including hummingbirds. Learn more and support bird-safe glass in Wisconsin here: madisonaudubon.org/bird-safe-glass
5. Enjoy! The best way to protect hummingbirds is to enjoy and care for them. If you've done 1-4, you're doing a great job of it! Now sit back and enjoy.
Of course there are lots of other ways you can help hummingbirds, including planting native trees, shrubs, and flowers, providing water sources, eliminating or reducing use of chemicals in your yard, and more. Thank you for all you do for hummingbirds and all of our feathered friends!
