Seasonal
When to Put Out Hummingbird Feeders
The rule is simple: two weeks before the first birds normally show up. The hard part is knowing when that is for your yard, and what to do while the feeder waits.
The short answer
- Hang your feeder about two weeks before the typical first arrival date for your area. An early feeder costs you a little sugar; a late one costs a scouting bird a meal.
- Arrival runs roughly from late February on the Gulf Coast to mid-May in southern Canada, moving north at a rough pace of about 20 miles (32 km) a day.
- Use a 4 to 1 water-to-sugar ratio, plain white sugar only. No red dye, no honey, no brown sugar, no artificial sweetener.
- In much of the West and along the Pacific coast, Anna's hummingbirds are present all winter and feeders can stay up year round.
- Start with one small feeder. A large one just means throwing away more unused nectar during the quiet early weeks.
Hang your hummingbird feeder about two weeks before the first birds normally reach your area. That gives an early scout something to find, and early arrivals are exactly the birds that need it: they are burning through fat reserves and hit a landscape where very little is in bloom yet.
For most of the country the trigger dates run from late February on the Gulf Coast to mid-May in southern Canada. The table below gives rough windows, and your own record of last year's first sighting beats any national map.
This page covers regional timing, what to fill the feeder with, how much to make while you wait, and where to hang it so the first bird through actually finds it.
The two-week rule, and why it is worth following#
Spring migration moves north at a rough pace of about 20 miles (32 km) a day, and the leading edge is made up of adult males claiming territory. They arrive before most nectar plants open.
A feeder that is already hanging when that first male passes through has a decent chance of being adopted for the season. A feeder you hang three days after the neighbors report their first bird is competing with a feeder that has already been found.
The cost of being early is small: a quarter cup of sugar water changed a few times. The cost of being late is a bird that moves on.
Fill it a quarter full while you wait
Before the birds arrive, put in just an inch (2.5 cm) or so of nectar. You still get the benefit of a feeder in place, and you throw away far less when it spoils. Scale up once you see the first bird.
Arrival windows by region#
These are typical first-arrival windows, not guarantees. Weather shifts them by a week or two in either direction, and coastal areas often run ahead of inland ones at the same latitude.
| Region | Typical first arrivals | Hang the feeder |
|---|---|---|
| Gulf Coast, south Texas, Florida | Late February to early March | Mid-February |
| Texas inland, Deep South | Early to mid-March | Late February |
| Southeast, Carolinas, Tennessee | Mid to late March | Early March |
| Mid-Atlantic, Ohio Valley, lower Midwest | Early to mid-April | Late March |
| Northeast, Upper Midwest, New England | Late April to early May | Mid-April |
| Mountain West, northern Rockies | Late April to mid-May | Mid-April |
| Pacific Northwest, Rufous arrival | Late February to early April | Early February |
| Southern Canada | Early to mid-May | Late April |
| Coastal California, Pacific Northwest lowlands | Anna's present year round | Keep up all year |
East of the Great Plains you are almost certainly waiting for the ruby-throated hummingbird, which is the only breeding hummingbird across most of that range. West of the Rockies the picture is more crowded, with Anna's, rufous and several other species overlapping and arriving on different schedules.
What goes in the feeder#
One part plain white sugar to four parts water. Stir until it dissolves. That is the whole recipe, and it approximates the sucrose concentration of the flowers hummingbirds feed on.
Boiling is optional. It dissolves sugar faster and slightly extends refrigerator life, but it does not make the nectar last longer once it is hanging outdoors in the sun.
Nothing but white sugar and water
No red dye, which is unnecessary and of no benefit to the bird. No honey, which ferments fast and can grow fungus. No brown sugar, raw sugar or molasses, which contain iron levels hummingbirds do not handle well. No artificial sweeteners, which supply zero calories to a bird that needs them badly. The full reasoning is in the hummingbird nectar recipe.
Feeders themselves already have red parts. That is all the color the birds need to find one.
Where to hang it so the first bird finds it#
Hummingbirds locate feeders by sight, from a distance, while moving. Visibility matters more than shelter.
- Hang it in the open where it can be seen from above, ideally 5 to 6 feet (1.5 to 1.8 m) up.
- Put it near flowering plants or a spot where you can add spring-blooming natives; see native plants for birds.
- Give it partial afternoon shade. Nectar in full sun spoils fastest.
- Keep it away from busy seed feeders, where the traffic and squabbling put hummingbirds off.
- Provide a perch or thin bare twig within about 10 feet (3 m). Males will use it to guard the feeder all day.
Placement detail and the case for more than one feeder is in how to attract hummingbirds and how many feeders and how far apart.
How often to change nectar in spring#
Spoiled nectar is the most common reason a feeder that was busy goes quiet. Sugar water ferments and grows mold with no visible warning at first.
| Daytime high | Change nectar every |
|---|---|
| Below 70°F (21°C) | 4 to 5 days |
| 70 to 80°F (21 to 27°C) | 3 days |
| 80 to 90°F (27 to 32°C) | 2 days |
| Above 90°F (32°C) | Daily |
Rinse with hot water at every change and give the feeder a proper scrub weekly. Cloudy nectar, black specks or stringy strands mean dump it now. The method is in cleaning a hummingbird feeder.
Picking a first feeder#
Small is right for the early season. A 6 to 10 ounce (175 to 300 ml) feeder that you can empty and refill without waste beats a large reservoir that sits half full and spoils.
Look for one that comes apart completely for cleaning, has no narrow crevices a bottle brush cannot reach, and has an ant moat built in or space to add one. The trade-offs between saucer and inverted bottle designs are covered in hummingbird feeders and choosing a hummingbird feeder.
If nothing shows up#
Give it time before you change anything. A new feeder in a yard with no history of hummingbirds can take several weeks to be found, and the first birds through are often territorial males who pass over the whole neighborhood before settling.
Then check the obvious causes in order. Nectar that has been sitting for a week is the most common one, and a bird will reject it without you seeing anything wrong. Position is the next: a feeder tucked under dense foliage or against a wall is invisible from above. After that, consider whether your arrival window has actually opened yet, because a feeder hung in the right week of April in Michigan is still three weeks early for a bird that has not left Tennessee.
Flowers help more than anything else you can add. A patch of tubular red or orange blooms advertises the yard from a distance in a way a single feeder does not, and it keeps working when the feeder runs dry.
Early-season problems#
Ants find sugar water within days. A water-filled moat above the feeder solves it completely and nothing else works as reliably; see ants in a hummingbird feeder.
Wasps and bees arrive later in spring. Saucer-style feeders, where the nectar sits below the port and out of reach of a shorter insect tongue, are the structural fix, along with removing any yellow parts. More in bees and wasps at hummingbird feeders.
A late cold snap after arrival is the one genuine emergency. Nectar can freeze and flowers shut down, and early hummingbirds may be dependent on feeders for several days. Bring the feeder in overnight and put it back out before dawn.
A spring start-up checklist#
- Look up your regional arrival window, subtract two weeks, and put that date in your calendar.
- Scrub last year's feeder before the first fill, including the ports.
- Mix 4 to 1 sugar water, no dye, and fill only a quarter full at first.
- Hang it visible from above, with afternoon shade and a nearby perch.
- Fit an ant moat before you have an ant problem.
- Change the nectar on the temperature schedule above, not when you remember.
- Note the date of your first bird. Next spring, that record is better than any map.
Frequently asked questions#
When should I put out my hummingbird feeder?
About two weeks before hummingbirds typically arrive in your area. On the Gulf Coast that means late February. In the mid-Atlantic and Midwest, late March to early April. In the Northeast, Upper Midwest and Mountain West, mid to late April. In southern Canada, early May. Hanging early costs nothing but a cup of sugar water.
Is it bad to put a hummingbird feeder out too early?
No. There is no harm to birds in an early feeder, and it may catch an unusually early scout. The only cost is to you: nectar left in the sun spoils in a few days, so you will be changing unused sugar water for a while. Fill it a quarter full while you wait.
What is the correct hummingbird nectar recipe?
One part plain white sugar to four parts water, stirred until dissolved. Boiling is optional and mainly extends how long the mix keeps in the refrigerator. Never use red dye, honey, brown sugar, raw sugar or any sweetener other than plain white table sugar.
How do I know when hummingbirds arrive where I live?
Check regional first-arrival reports and migration maps published each spring, or ask neighbors who feed. Arrival dates are consistent enough year to year that last spring's first sighting in your own yard is a good guide: subtract two weeks from that date and hang the feeder.
How often do I need to change the nectar early in the season?
Every 4 to 5 days in cool spring weather below about 70°F (21°C), and every 2 days once daytime highs reach 80°F (27°C). Nectar ferments and grows mold quickly, and cloudy or stringy sugar water should be dumped immediately.