Don’t Miss the May Hummingbird Window – These 6 Easy Additions Help Them Nest and Thrive in Your Backyard

As spring ripens into May, hungry hummingbirds are returning to our yards. It’s magic to see the flash of color, hear the chirps and trills, plus the hum that comes from the rapid beat of their tiny wings.

If you are ready to start attracting hummingbirds to the garden, then a red hummingbird feeder for sugar water is a great starting point (you can even buy one with an HD camera, like this popular Birdfy one on Amazon), but, really, that’s just the bare minimum. We humans need water to survive, but that doesn’t mean you would want to live on water alone. Just so, hummers appreciate sugar water for the quick energy it provides, but it’s not enough to meet their nutrient needs.

If you want to help the hummingbirds that appear in May, you need to think about other foods you might offer them – particularly protein. Many of the migrating hummingbirds are running on empty after their long flight and crave protein, the building block that makes for strong feathers and gets them through the breeding season.

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There are many other ways to meet the needs of our hummingbird friends in May, Here’s a handy list of ways you can help hummers – and keep them in your yard. That way, you can watch them hovering and even flying backwards for many a happy month.

1. Plant Nectar-Rich Wildflowers

Hummingbirds love nectar, and wildflowers are the best source, so plant a garden bed or a meadow full of vibrant wildflowers. The best choices are red, orange, and pink blossoms, as these colors appeal most to hummingbirds.

What flowers are best for hummingbirds? Their beaks are made to poke into long, thin, tubular flowers – like trumpet honeysuckle, fuchsia, bee balm, and coral honeysuckle, wild bergamot, cardinal flower, scarlet sage, and hummingbird sage.

The key to using wildflowers to feed the hummers is to select blossoms that flower at different times. In May, you want plants that flower in May. But you’ll also need plants that flower in June, July, and August.

Best Hummingbird Wildflower Seed Mixes

2. Plant Shrubs and Small Trees

Everyone knows that sugar water attracts hummers, but planting shrubs and small trees for hummingbirds can do even more to encourage them to stay. These tiny birds will only nest where they can quickly get to protective cover. Almost any bushy shrubs provide that cover, and limbs of small deciduous trees are great structures for tiny, expandable hummingbird nests. The nests are often built of spider webs and lichens.

Not sure what shrubs to plant? Flowering shrubs not only provide cover for hummers, but also bring insects into the garden. You could choose hibiscus, rhododendron, buddleia (that also attracts butterflies), or azalea.

One of the best shrubs to add to your yard for hummingbirds is the Temple of Bloom Seven Son Flower Tree (USDA zones 5-9), available at Nature Hills. It is a real beauty offering plenty of color, fragrance, and year-round interest.

3. Give Them Rotten Fruit

A big part of a hummingbird’s diet is protein – but we aren’t talking about sirloin steaks or hamburgers. Hummingbirds get most of their protein from insects, including gnats, flies, mosquitoes, and spiders. So instead of clearing these bugs out of your backyard, attract them for hummingbirds.

One way to entice bugs is to leave out a bowl or basket of overripe fruit. Super-soft bananas, strawberries, or cantaloupes can bring in the fruit flies.

4. Hang Two – or More – Feeders

If you watch regular birds at a bird feeder, they often feed together happily. But don't expect the same from hummingbirds. These guys are territorial, and they often fight over sugar-water feeders, trying to scare each other away. Hummingbirds in the wild feed on blossoms – blossoms that offer a limited supply of nectar – so they’ve learned to protect the source, even when it's a sugar water feeder.

The simple solution is putting up two feeders, or three, or even four, and filling them with homemade hummingbird nectar. Place them where a hummer on one cannot see a hummer on another. Try putting up multiple feeders that can’t be seen from one another. Space them at least 15 feet apart, if possible, since males are extremely possessive.

Best Hummingbird Feeders

5. Add a Water Source

All birds need water, both for drinking and for bathing. While hummingbirds get some of their liquid from sugar-water feeders, they can’t bathe in them. And these small birds like to bathe frequently. I’ve seen them sometimes dipping into pools of raindrops on leaves.

Don’t make them wait for rainfall. Instead, install a drop fountain attachment or a fine misting device. These provide a constant source of water that they can count on. A small, solar-powered fountain is another good option, like this Mademax Solar Bird Bath Fountain Pump on Amazon.

6. Provide Perches

Hummingbirds seem to be in perpetual motion, but of course they aren’t. Even hummingbirds need resting areas. Planting trees and bushes is one answer – they provide both natural resting places and shelter for the little fliers – but you can also add some swings or platforms if you like. The hummers spend a lot of time resting and will appreciate different places to perch.

It's easy to make a DIY hummingbird swing, or you can buy a sweet design without spending too much money.

Best Hummingbird Swings

One final tip to support hummingbirds is to keep chemicals and pesticides out of your garden and, even better, out of your landscape. Hummingbirds are very vulnerable to chemicals and toxins and any type of chemical can kill them off. Instead, adapt organic gardening methods. You can count on your hummingbird guests to eat backyard bugs, helping with natural pest control while they are in the garden.