R&S Blog

Feeding Your Hummingbirds & Orioles

It is finally beginning to feel more like summer, and along with the rising temperatures, our hummingbird and oriole friends are back! Hummingbirds are attracted to the color red, and orioles are especially attracted to the color orange. They enjoy nectar, jelly, and fruit (such as orange halves). Nectar can be home made by mixing 1 cup plain white sugar with 4 cups boiling water (let cool before using); or premix liquid or powder formulas are also available.

Planting nectar-producing flowering plants, shrubs and trees and providing multiple feeders in your yard is the best way to keep orioles and hummers visiting you throughout these warm months. You want to be sure to change out the nectar in feeders at least every three days and more frequently in the hot summer months.

The following are some fun hummingbird facts:

• They beat their wings on an average of 70 times per second and can hover in mid-air, fly sideways, forwards, and backwards and even fly upside down!

• Although they are the smallest of bird species; they have the largest brain of all birds in proportion to their size.

• A hummer will eat half to 8 times its body weight each day!

To help provide for these little guys’ voracious appetites, we offer a variety of oriole and hummingbird feeders at our Fond du Lac Riesterer & Schnell location. We even carry hand-held feeders called Nectar Dots that allow hummingbirds to eat out of your hand! They are very friendly birds once they get used to you. Click the link below to see a video!

In honor of these little dynamos for the month of May and June, all oriole and hummingbird feeders are 10% OFF! For any questions on feeding your furry or feathered friends, please feel free to call Amanda at 920-921-4042 or email me at [email protected].

Nectar Dots