Good news for bird lovers: it’s hummingbird season.
The diminutive bird’s spring migration, when they head north toward their breeding grounds from Central America and Mexico, begins around February. Usually travelling alone, they tend to turn up in the South around March.
A female ruby-throated hummingbird collects nectar from a Mexican sage bush Wednesday, October 12, 2022, in Lafayette, La.
Louisiana is a favorite stop for hummingbirds. West Feliciana is a particular hotspot, to the extent that it has held its own hummingbird festival over the years near Tunica Hills.
By far the most common type in Louisiana is the ruby-throated hummingbird. Anecdotally, locals have reported seeing them in the area over the past week or so, though the bulk are yet to make an appearance.
Unlike other some other migratory species, hummingbirds don’t have one specific tree or flower they gravitate toward. Instead, they’re attracted by a variety of plants, trees and shrubs.
They have a weakness for bright colors — especially, though not solely, red — and a particular liking for flowers in the shape of a trumpet. Hummingbird feeders, of which there is a sometimes bewildering variety, are a good option.
As LSU’s AgCenter’s Heather Kirk-Ballard points out, a bit of plant diversity goes a long way.
Louisiana is on the hummingbird highway and the best way for you to get glimpse of our annual visitors is to hang up a feeder.
“It’s a good idea to provide a diverse number of plants,” she said. “Look for tubular-shaped flowers — like the crossvine, which is blooming right now — but incorporate several different options. Let’s give them a buffet to choose from.”
Offering up plenty of options not only attracts hummingbirds, she said, but it helps the rest of the garden too.
“Though they love flowers, they also go for all sorts of plants: trees, shrubs, evergreens, perennials, annuals and vines. It’s good to think of the bigger picture. The more diversity there is in a landscape, the more support there is for other wildlife and the wider ecosystem, too.”
It’s not all about nectar, either. Hummingbirds also eat insects for protein, which having a variety of plants can help attract. Don’t forget to provide water, or a hummingbird nectar mix of one part sugar to four parts water, but do avoid using red dye (“It isn’t necessary,” Kirk-Ballard said).
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