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I love birds and that love has grown since I moved from the city to the suburbs. I have watched robins build nests on our old pergola, lay eggs, and those babies grow up and eventually fly from the nest for the first time. I have enjoyed the cardinals as they sit on my patio furniture and the sparrows bathe themselves in the little fountain I have on the patio. But one of my favorite birds is the beautiful hummingbird. Maybe it is because they are so small and cute or maybe it is because they can flap their wings 70 times in a second. But I think my true love for them is because I do not see them very often so when I do, it is incredibly special.
When I was growing up I never saw a hummingbird in person until I was visiting my grandfather one weekend in Wisconsin. Outside on his porch was a hummingbird feeder and we saw multiple hummingbirds come to feed during that weekend. It was incredibly exciting!
But I never saw one again until I moved to the suburbs of Illinois. My then fiancé (now husband) and I moved into an apartment together that had a small balcony off the living room / kitchen. The balcony was our little outdoor oasis spot and we decided we wanted to dress it up with beautiful flowers.
My beautiful flowers that also regularly attracted hummingbirds
Not only did these flowers really add a lot of beauty to the space, but to my amazement and excitement we started to get multiple visits from hummingbirds. Normally they came to visit while I was inside the apartment sitting on the living room sofa, but there were a few times I saw them while I was sitting outside. As you can see in the picture below this meant they were incredibly close to me which was such an unforgettable experience. I got so used to seeing the hummingbirds and it added so much joy to my day, that I decided from then on that I needed to continue planting flowers that would attract them so I would continue to see them.
The chairs were close to the flowers so on a few occasions I was very close to a hummingbird while it was feeding from my flowers
When I moved into our house it was important to me that we would attract hummingbirds so I did some research to learn which flowers would attract them. According to The Old Farmer’s Almanac, Daylilies are one of the flowers that hummingbirds are drawn to. Luckily both our front and backyards were already covered in various colors of Daylilies. I have found that online daylilies do not always come up as a flower that hummingbirds are attracted to, but I have seen them enjoying nectar from the daylilies before.
A hummingbird enjoying nectar from the daylilies
They are also attracted to Weigela and we also have one of those in our backyard near the back-patio door. I have seen them enjoying the Weigela recently, but I have seen them enjoy it a few times in past years. But I did not want to only see them occasionally so I decided I would entice them even more by adding a Hibiscus and Salvia to our front yard. Plus, every year I purchase some pots of annuals that have Petunias and Snapdragons which the hummingbirds also enjoy.
Daylilies, Salvia, and Hibiscus in my yard that attract the hummingbirds
Last year I realized my efforts were working. I was sitting on the porch in my backyard when I saw a hummingbird flying around. In the few hours I was sitting outside, I realized I was seeing it quite a bit, so I started really watching to see where it was going and I realized it had built a nest on a branch of the tree in my backyard. Once I knew where that nest was, I noticed the hummingbird every day.
A hummingbird nesting in the tree in my backyard
I saw hummingbirds in the yard for the first time this weekend. I saw them eating from the daylilies and also flying near the tree I found the nest last year. Last year I discovered the nest at the end of July and I have read online that the peak time to see hummingbirds in Chicago is during August, but I want to entice the hummingbirds to build their nests in my yard again this year so I set up a little hummingbird oasis.
The hummingbird oasis with a feeder and a swing
Last year my mom purchased this lovely hummingbird feeder to put in my yard. I filled it with a mixture of water and sugar (RECIPE: I boiled 4 cups of water and added one cup of cane sugar until it fully dissolved in the water. I removed that mixture from the heat and let it cool. Once it was cool I put it in the feeder.) I wanted to have more than just the feeder so I did some research on Amazon.com and came across the hummingbird swing. After additional reading I learned that hummingbirds are really attracted to the color red which is why the feeder and the swing both have red on them. To help catch their attention and draw them to the oasis I set up I also added a pot of red flowers nearby.
A hummingbird taking a rest on the swing
And guess what it worked! The hummingbirds love both the feeder and the swing! I have been sitting outside all morning and have seen them come by multiple times! It has been a true joy watching them eat and take a break on the swing. One even made bird calls as it sat on the swing looking at me. I like to think it was thanking me for the lovely oasis.
A hummingbird enjoying some food from the feeder
Occasionally, there have even been two birds fighting over the feeder so I think I am going to purchase another one that has multiple feeding stations.
Here is to hoping my yard is filled with hummingbirds to enjoy all summer long!
CREATE YOUR OWN OASIS
Songbird Essentials SEHHHUMS Copper Hummingbird Swing (Set of 1)
Wow, your photos of the hummingbirds are beautiful! I’ve been trying to capture my birds but my photos are usually blurry!
Karen, I cannot take credit for some of the photos. The gorgeous up close pictures are stock photos. The video at the beginning and the last two photos of them enjoying the food and swing are mine. 🙂
Birds are so beautiful though. I was talking with my husband tonight about how I should probably take some photography classes and get a better camera since i love trying to capture pictures of all of the gorgeous birds in our yard.
Wow! That’s amazing! We’ve been trying to make the patio to our apartment a little garden oasis but I never thought of the birds too! Now i just might! 🙂
Harley, you can also attract butterflies with your garden as well. It is really fun seeing the birds and butterflies also enjoying your garden!
Oh my gosh, that’s awesome! I bet they love hanging around your home! I just end up throwing a bird feeder out there and calling it a day. I’ll have to experiment a bit and see if I can bring in some of these beauties!
Sophie, the thing I like about also adding the swing is that the hummingbirds tend to stay a little longer and then I have a better chance of seeing them. With just the feeder they fly in, eat, and fly away so fast I was not seeing them as often unless I was sitting outside near the feeder.
I love hummingbirds! I have been wanting to get a hummingbird feeder for a while now, I’m going to have to get one soon.
I have always loved hummingbirds. When I was a kid we had tons at our home. I/m a huge lover of gardening so thanks so much for these tips. I didn’t realize you could buy feeders especially for hummingbirds. They are such beautiful creatures.
A hummingbird oasis! I love this idea. I can’t wait to put one up in my yard.