Hello all,

I am an avid hummingbird enthusiast and have years of experience attracting and observing them, here in southern Alabama. I own several man-made feeders, in which I place homemade nectar (never with dye...), and array them around our home for these beautiful little birds.
Now that the ruby-throated hummingbird migration is soon to take place, with the birds flying north from their winter roosts in South America, I am getting ready to welcome them back. My artificial feeders are already clean and in place, but I'd like to entice them with some actual plants.
In these parts, we have a LOT of red trumpet-vine, which the hummers love, but I have never successfully been able to dig up a wild trumpet vine and transplant it to a new location. I'd like to know, foremost, if anyone has any suggestions in that regard. Likewise for wisteria. I know both the trumpet-vine and wisteria can be a nuisance for some property owners, but I would happily welcome either or both if I could get them to grow on our property.
Likewise, if anyone has any suggestions for native plants that I can place in containers that would be good for hummers, I'd like recommendations. Foxgloves look nice, but I'm not sure if they are a native species or if I can even get them to survive in Alabama. Ideally, any plants or flowers I acquire will be both for decoration and food for the birds, but will definitely need to thrive in pots/containers.

Hello David,
I was wondering why we weren't getting hummingbirds at our feeder, so thought that I would see what people on this forum have to say.
This is the first year that we put one up. What is a good location. I read online and tried to follow the guidelines, but there are no takers. We see hummers at our Furman's Red Sage on the east side of the house. The feeder is on the west side under the eave of the patio roof. I read that it shouldn't be in direct sun. What do you say?

Hi Glenn,

I apologize for the long delay with this response. I have not been on this site in several weeks. I agree that your feeder shouldn't be in direct sunlight. It isn't a definite no-go, but placing the feeder in the sun will cause your nectar to go bad much faster. If you keep it in direct sunlight, I'd definitely recommend putting far less nectar in it and be prepared to change it out about ever 2-3 days.

As for placement, don't blame the birds for going for real flowers. After-all, that's what they do. Placing the man-made feeder in a conspicuous location where they can see it (often near real flowers) is a good way to get their attention. I keep my two main feeders under a crepe myrtle tree because it keeps the feeders in a fairly visible location, but also keeps the feeders in the shade, keeps them near my potted cigar plant, AND gives the birds a place to perch between feedings. The birds DO like to have a place to perch...if you can position your feeder near a tree with small branches and places for them to perch, they are more likely to use your feeder, because they will have cover AND not have to fly so much in between feedings.

Lastly, a water source helps too. If you have a shallow bird bath that a hummingbird can land on and splash in, that can help. Likewise, I learned just this year how much they enjoy misters, so I placed one in the same tree near my two main feeders and they LOVE it! They fly through the mist and rub against the damp leaves for a bath when they roost.

Here is the good news: even though it is getting late in the season, and many hummers will soon begin migrating south, "IF" you can get them to take notice of your feeder, they will remember it next spring. Hummingbirds can recall up to 40 or 50 different food locations in a geographic region. They make a mental map or "trap line" that helps them sustain their activities even if a few food sources disappears or is too crowded with aggressive hummers. So, if they can make note of your feeder now, they are very likely to return next year.

The trick is to keep the feeder someplace where they can find it and keep the nectar fresh and clean.

Hope this help.