How to Attract Ruby-throated Hummingbirds to Your Yard

Here is how to attract Ruby-throated Hummingbirds: hang a clean feeder filled with fresh 1:4 sugar water about a week before they usually arrive, plant red and orange tubular native flowers nearby, and avoid pesticides so there are insects for them to eat. Put up at least two feeders out of sight of each other once a male starts guarding one. That combination works in almost any eastern yard, from a big garden to a small patio.

Ruby-throated Hummingbird at a glance

How to identify a Ruby-throated Hummingbird

The Cornell Lab calls this species eastern North America’s sole breeding hummingbird, with the largest breeding range of any North American hummingbird. East of the Great Plains, a hummingbird in summer is almost certainly a Ruby-throat. Wings beat about 53 times a second, according to the Lab, and the legs are so short that the bird cannot walk or hop.

Adult male

• Brilliant iridescent red throat (the gorget), which looks black when the light is wrong
• Emerald green back and crown
• Grayish-white underparts with greenish sides
• Black, forked tail with no white

Female

• No red throat, white or lightly marked throat instead
• Golden-green above, whitish below, with buffy flanks and a dusky mask
• Tail mostly black with white tips on the outer feathers

Immature male

Young males in late summer and fall look like females but may show a few scattered red throat feathers as they develop.

Similar species

• Black-chinned Hummingbird: a close relative of the West and Texas. Males have a black chin with a thin purple band below. Females are very hard to separate from female Ruby-throats. Where ranges meet, careful photos help.
• Rufous Hummingbird: a western species that turns up in the East and Southeast in fall and winter. Rufous and orange tones on the sides and tail are the clue.
• Anna’s, Broad-tailed and Calliope Hummingbirds: western birds, rare in the East.

A hummingbird at an eastern feeder after most Ruby-throats have left, especially from November onward, is worth photographing and reporting on eBird. See our guide on how to use eBird.

When Ruby-throated Hummingbirds arrive and leave

Ruby-throats are long-distance migrants. Audubon notes that nearly all leave North America in fall and winter from Mexico to Costa Rica and Panama, that males move north in spring before females, and that some cross the Gulf of Mexico while many travel along the Texas coast.

General timing, which varies by year and latitude:

Treat this table as a starting point. The most reliable way to time your feeder is to check eBird sightings for your county or the migration maps many hummingbird groups publish each spring.

When to put your feeder out

Audubon suggests putting the feeder out about a week before hummingbirds normally arrive in your yard. Early males scout for food, and a ready feeder can be one reason a bird settles nearby.

When to take it down

Audubon states that hummingbirds are genetically programmed to head south in fall, and that departure depends on day length and sun angle, not food. A feeder will not trap a bird that should be leaving. Keep feeders up until you have gone about two weeks without seeing a hummingbird. In the Southeast, some people leave one feeder up all winter for western vagrants such as Rufous Hummingbirds.

What Ruby-throated Hummingbirds eat

Nectar is only part of the diet. According to the Cornell Lab, Ruby-throats feed on nectar from red and orange tubular flowers such as trumpet creeper and cardinal flower, visit feeders and drink tree sap. They also eat mosquitoes, gnats, fruit flies, small bees and spiders, pick insects out of spider webs and glean small caterpillars and aphids from leaves.

That protein is essential, especially for nestlings. A yard with feeders but no insects is a weak yard for hummingbirds. This is also why pesticide use matters so much: spraying for mosquitoes or garden pests removes food the birds and their young depend on.

Sap wells

Ruby-throats also feed at sap wells drilled by Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers, which helps early spring migrants before many flowers open. Leaving trees with sapsucker rows in place is a quiet way to help them. For a broader plan that serves hummingbirds alongside seed eaters, see backyard birding: turn your yard into a bird magnet.

Hummingbird nectar: the recipe and the rules

The 1:4 recipe

The Cornell Lab and Audubon both recommend one part refined white sugar to four parts water. In practice that is one-quarter cup of sugar per cup of water. Stir until dissolved, let it cool, then fill. Boiling is optional for dissolving sugar faster, but it does not keep nectar fresh once it is outside. Our full hummingbird nectar recipe walks through it step by step.

The Cornell Lab notes that during cold, rainy weather some people use a slightly stronger mix, about one-third cup of sugar per cup of water. For normal spring and summer feeding, stick with 1:4.

What never to use

• Red dye: unnecessary, since flower nectar is clear and the feeder’s red parts attract the birds. Audubon warns it could prove harmful.
• Honey: Audubon says it can promote dangerous fungal growth.
• Brown sugar, raw sugar, organic sugars or artificial sweeteners: stick with plain white table sugar.
• Store-bought red nectar: it costs more than sugar and water and adds nothing birds need.

How often to change nectar

This matters more than any feeder feature. Audubon recommends emptying and cleaning the feeder every day or every other day in hot weather, every three days in temperate weather, and twice a week in cooler weather. The Cornell Lab says sugar water should never sit out more than two or three days and should be changed daily in very hot weather. Cloudy nectar, black specks or white strings mean it has spoiled. Dump it, scrub and refill.

Choosing a hummingbird feeder

A good feeder is one you will actually clean. Features that matter, based on manufacturer designs and patterns in owner feedback:

• Easy disassembly. Saucer feeders that pull apart into two or three pieces are the easiest to scrub.
• Wide openings. If a bottle brush cannot reach every surface, mold will grow where you cannot see it.
• Built-in ant moat. A small cup of water above the feeder stops ants. The Cornell Lab recommends moats filled with plain water.
• Right size. Buy capacity to match the number of birds. A small yard with one or two Ruby-throats may only drink a few ounces in two or three days, so a 32 oz feeder mostly means wasted nectar.
• Red parts, no yellow. The Cornell Lab notes yellow bee guards can actually attract bees.

Our roundup of hummingbird feeders that are easy to clean and do not leak compares designs in detail, and there is a separate guide on how to clean a bird feeder.

Where to hang it

1. In partial shade. The Cornell Lab warns that direct sun makes sugar water spoil quickly.
2. Near flowers. Audubon notes that red or orange tubular flowers near a feeder may help birds find it.
3. Near a perch. Males like a small bare twig or wire with a view of the feeder.
4. Either very close to a window or well away from it. A window feeder or decals help reduce collisions; see how to stop birds hitting windows.
5. Out of reach of cats. The Cornell Lab notes some cats learn to wait for visiting hummingbirds. Hang feeders well above the ground and away from low shrubs a cat could hide in.

Beat the bully male

Male Ruby-throats aggressively defend flowers and feeders, according to the Cornell Lab. One male can keep every other bird away from a single feeder. The fix is more feeding stations placed so they cannot all be seen from one perch: one in front of the house, one around the side or back. A cheap second feeder often doubles the number of birds you see.

The best native plants for Ruby-throated Hummingbirds

Plants give nectar across a longer season than any feeder and also bring in the small insects hummingbirds need. Choose a sequence of bloom from spring to fall.

Plant in clusters rather than single stems, so a bird finds many flowers in one spot. A local native plant society or extension office can confirm which species suit your county.

Water, perches and insects

• Misters and shallow moving water. Hummingbirds rarely use deep baths, but many fly through a fine mist or bathe on wet leaves. A mister or bubbler in a shallow bath can help.
• Small bare branches. Leave a few dead twigs on shrubs near feeders for perching and guarding.
• No pesticides. Mosquitoes, gnats and aphids are hummingbird food.
• Spider webs and plant down. Females build nests from thistle or dandelion down held together with spider silk. A slightly messy garden helps.

Nesting: what to expect

Hummingbirds do not use nest boxes. The Cornell Lab says females build on slender branches of deciduous trees, usually 10 to 40 feet up. The nest is made of plant down bound with spider silk and decorated with lichen and moss, about 2 inches across and 1 inch deep, with an inner cup about the size of a large thimble.

The Cornell Lab notes pairs are together only long enough for courtship and mating, a matter of days to weeks. Males perform U-shaped courtship dives from as high as 50 feet. If you see a male swinging back and forth in a big U in spring, a female is likely nearby.

Nests are hard to find because they look like a knot on a branch. If you find one, watch from a distance and do not touch it.

How to attract hummingbirds to a small yard, patio or balcony

You do not need a big garden. Ruby-throats regularly visit apartment balconies and townhouse patios if the basics are right.

1. Start with one small feeder. An 8 to 12 oz feeder is plenty. Smaller volumes mean less waste when you change nectar every few days. Our guide to bird feeders for balconies and small spaces covers mounting options.
2. Add container plants. A few pots of red salvia, native bee balm or cardinal flower (kept well watered) give birds a reason to stop. A trumpet honeysuckle vine on a railing trellis adds height.
3. Use height to your advantage. Upper-floor balconies can work, since hummingbirds forage at many heights. Hang the feeder where it is visible from open air, not tucked under an overhang.
4. Keep it clean and consistent. In a small space, the feeder is often the only draw, so fresh nectar matters even more.
5. Be patient. A feeder in a spot with little greenery around it may take longer to be found than one in a garden.

Do hummingbirds come back to the same yard every year?

Many do. Bird banders have recaptured Ruby-throats in the same area in later years, and the Cornell Lab records one individual recaptured at an age of at least 9 years, 2 months. Returning birds often appear at the same time each spring, sometimes hovering where a feeder hung the previous year. That is one more reason to have feeders ready before the usual arrival date: a returning bird that finds food right away has every reason to stay. It also means the habitat you build pays off over many seasons, not just one.

A year of Ruby-throated Hummingbirds

Common mistakes when attracting Ruby-throated Hummingbirds

• Letting nectar spoil. A dirty feeder does more harm than no feeder.
• Using red dye or honey. Neither is needed; honey promotes fungus.
• One feeder in full sun. It spoils fast and one male will own it.
• Taking feeders down too early. Late migrants rely on them.
• Spraying the yard. Insecticides remove food for adults and chicks.
• Planting non-native, nectar-poor flowers. Many bedding plants look bright but offer little. Favor native tubular flowers.
• Giving up after a week. New feeders can take time to be found. Our guide on why birds are not coming to a new feeder covers the patience part.

Sources

• Ruby-throated Hummingbird Identification, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology
• Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Audubon Guide to North American Birds
• Hummingbird Feeding FAQs, Audubon
• Feeding Birds, Project FeederWatch
• Perky-Pet Pinch-Waist Glass Hummingbird Feeder 203CPBN, Perky-Pet