{"id":394715,"date":"2026-07-11T13:34:10","date_gmt":"2026-07-11T13:34:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/394715\/"},"modified":"2026-07-11T13:34:10","modified_gmt":"2026-07-11T13:34:10","slug":"so-you-want-to-create-a-hummingbird-habitat-heres-how-san-diego-union-tribune","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/394715\/","title":{"rendered":"So you want to create a hummingbird habitat? Here\u2019s how. \u2013 San Diego Union-Tribune"},"content":{"rendered":"

For The Union-Tribune<\/p>\n

Among life\u2019s most magical moments is when you stand quietly in your garden and a hummingbird hovers less than a foot away in front of your face, seemingly taking you in and letting you do the same.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not exactly interspecies communion, but it can feel like communication of some kind. Especially when it happens more than once. Which it can if you have hummingbirds visiting daily because you\u2019ve created a space that welcomes and nourishes them.<\/p>\n

Apparently a lot of us in the U.S. have been doing just that. According to Emergen Research, the hummingbirds feed market<\/a>, which includes nectar solutions, feeders and supplements, was valued at half a billion dollars in 2024 and is expected to reach $1.2 billion by 2034.<\/p>\n

But hummingbirds don\u2019t live on sugar water alone, so while hanging some feeders is useful, creating a holistic habitat that provides them with other nutritional and life needs is just as critical.<\/p>\n

\"AA hummingbird alights on a bush sunflower (Encelia californica) at UC San Diego\u2019s Kendall-Frost Mission Bay Marsh Reserve, in Mission Bay. (San Diego Bird Alliance)<\/p>\n

Keep in mind, caring for hummingbirds is a commitment to maintenance:<\/p>\n

\u2022 Making sugar water, keeping it fresh and the feeders clean and protected from ants, bees, wasps and other intruders.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Providing clean water for bathing in sheltered, clean bird baths.<\/p>\n

\u2022 If possible, growing native plants that not only flower but attract the insects that hummingbirds eat and the spider webs they use to create their little nests.<\/p>\n

\u2022 You have to keep your cats indoors, too, and be strategic when placing feeders and fountains to protect the birds as much as possible from other potential predators, like hawks.<\/p>\n

\"AA full in-ground garden isn’t a must: McLeod’s small hummingbird ecosystem fits in an area on her deck, with feeders, a couple of birdbaths and flowering plants. The plants are also home to bugs \u2014 necessary protein \u2014 as well as material to use for nests. (Luke Johnson \/ The San Diego Union-Tribune)
\nCreating an ecosystem with food sources<\/p>\n

Birds find most of their nutritional needs in nature, explained Dan Payne, owner of Wild Birds Unlimited in Scripps Ranch<\/a>, which sells feeders, food and other backyard bird gear.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat we do is supplement their feeding in a way that helps bring them closer to us so that we can see them and enjoy having them in our lives,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Essentially, he said, what we\u2019re doing is a hobby.<\/p>\n

But it\u2019s a hobby that potentially goes beyond satisfying our enjoyment. By creating an ecosystem in our gardens, we\u2019re contributing to the health of our environment. We\u2019re attracting pollinators. Some will do their jobs and fly off. Others become a source of food for hummingbirds and other birds.<\/p>\n

\"Colorful,<\/p>\n

Colorful, tubular blooms of Mexican honeysuckle at McLeod\u2019s home fit the birds\u2019 long beaks. (Luke Johnson \/ The San Diego Union-Tribune)\n<\/p>\n

\"Hummingbirds<\/p>\n

Hummingbirds are frequent visitors to McLeod\u2019s yard, especially in early morning and at dusk. (Luke Johnson \/ The San Diego Union-Tribune)\n<\/p>\n

Show Caption<\/p>\n

1 of 2<\/p>\n

Colorful, tubular blooms of Mexican honeysuckle at McLeod\u2019s home fit the birds\u2019 long beaks. (Luke Johnson \/ The San Diego Union-Tribune)\n<\/p>\n

Expand<\/a><\/p>\n

Hummingbirds, said Kelcy Coleman, conservation coordinator with the San Diego Bird Alliance<\/a>, use nectar for most of their diet, and sugar water is a great replacement for that if you don\u2019t have native plants.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut they eat protein for a complete diet,\u201d she noted. \u201cThey feed on small, tiny little bugs, and especially during breeding season, they will feed the bugs to their chicks, so the chicks will have more protein and grow faster. They also need shelter plants, like bushier plants or trees, to be able to rest on, as well as build nests, so a layer of habitat.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat I mean by a layer is blooming and flowering plants,\u201d Coleman added, \u201cAnd then, bushes or coastal sage scrub habitat, where the bushes are taller than the smaller plants, and then sporadic trees as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

Native plants are recommended for several reasons. You\u2019ll have more success with plants that prefer the soil and climate where they naturally grow. Many have low water needs. Wildlife is dependent on them for food and shelter. And if you plant natives, you\u2019re connecting your habitat with others, including in our canyons and fields, giving the birds a broader home base.<\/p>\n

Making plant choices<\/p>\n

What native plants are we talking about? The most often mentioned is the California Fuchsia (Epilobium canum), with its brilliantly colored tubular flowers \u2014 designed for those long hummingbird bills. Coleman also recommended Dudleya, a succulent that flowers from spring to midsummer, again with vibrantly colored tubular flowers.<\/p>\n

Then there are monkey flowers: The bush monkey flower has orange and yellow blooms, while red bush and scarlet monkey flowers, of course, have red, trumpet-shape flowers.<\/p>\n

Others suggested to me were coral bells and Western columbine.<\/p>\n

\"Fuchsia-flowering<\/p>\n

Fuchsia-flowering gooseberry (Ribes speciosum) at Anstine Nature Preserve, seen during a nature walk, is a plant that attracts hummingbirds. (San Diego Bird Alliance)\n<\/p>\n

\"Bush<\/p>\n

Bush sunflower (Encelia californica) at UC San Diego\u2019s Kendall-Frost Mission Bay Marsh Reserve, in Mission Bay. The blooms also draw hummingbirds. (San Diego Bird Alliance)\n<\/p>\n

Show Caption<\/p>\n

1 of 2<\/p>\n

Fuchsia-flowering gooseberry (Ribes speciosum) at Anstine Nature Preserve, seen during a nature walk, is a plant that attracts hummingbirds. (San Diego Bird Alliance)\n<\/p>\n

Expand<\/a><\/p>\n

If you\u2019re sensing a pattern, you\u2019re right, hummers have great vision and are drawn to bright colors, especially reds. (That\u2019s why the most popular hummingbird feeders are red.) So a good way to attract more hummingbirds is to grow native plants that have those brilliantly colored flowers. You can find them at nurseries across San Diego County.<\/p>\n

A good source for finding both plants for your specific needs and nurseries that sell them is the Calscape website, calscape.org<\/a>. Also, advised Coleman, try to choose plants that bloom in succession. Anna\u2019s and Allen\u2019s hummingbirds are species that tend to be year-round residents in San Diego, instead of migrating, so we need to have a variety of plants that can bloom throughout the year.<\/p>\n

And don\u2019t have anything to do with pesticides. Use the bugs to your advantage: They\u2019re the food that hummingbirds \u2014 and other birds \u2014 need as part of their diet. You don\u2019t want to poison what you\u2019re working so hard to attract.<\/p>\n

\"AnyoneAnyone can create a home for hummingbirds, says Renee McLeod, a \u201cBirding for Beginners\u201d instructor for San Diego Bird Alliance. She also leads inclusive tours for EveryBody Birds San Diego. (Luke Johnson \/ The San Diego Union-Tribune)<\/p>\n

All this may lead you to think that if you don\u2019t have an in-ground garden, you can\u2019t attract and keep hummingbirds. Renee McLeod, a Certified Access Birding Outing leader who leads tours for the San Diego Bird Alliance and inclusive tours with EveryBody Birds San Diego, would beg to differ.<\/p>\n

McLeod and her husband\u2019s outdoor space is a large deck, which she\u2019s outfitted with several feeders, a couple of birdbaths, platform feeders for other birds and some flowering shrubs. Not only does she get visits from hummingbirds throughout the day \u2014 although mostly in early morning and at dusk \u2014 there are times when more than half a dozen hit the bar together.<\/p>\n

Over the years, McLeod has changed feeder types as she realized they were harder to clean, were getting moldy or were hard to fill.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we first started, we were using purchased powdered food, and we stopped doing that pretty quickly,\u201d she said. \u201cThat stuff is not good at all, and just the regular sugar is great.\u201d<\/p>\n

In fact, you may find something called electro nectar for sale, with ingredients such as sucrose, potassium sorbate, citric acid, sodium bicarbonate and potassium bicarbonate.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think we need to feed birds anything except for just the sugar,\u201d said McLeod. \u201cThey get all the rest of their stuff from tiny little gnats. In fact, when they\u2019ve got a lot of babies, and we go to empty the feeder, it\u2019ll have all these little, tiny gnats and bugs inside, and that\u2019s because they\u2019re dipping their beaks into the nectar with them into the feeder, and then going to feed the babies.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"AfterAfter trying several types of feeders, McLeod settled on ones that are easier to fill and to clean. (Luke Johnson \/ The San Diego Union-Tribune)
\nChoosing a hummingbird feeder<\/p>\n

How do you choose the right feeder? According to Mark Hocking, the former owner of California Backyard Birds<\/a> in Encinitas (who still works there part-time), try to buy a feeder that has at least some red on it.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey see red at farther distances, and it tends to be their favorite color,\u201d he said. \u201cYou want to buy a hummingbird feeder that\u2019s easy to clean, because you want to clean it thoroughly, and you want to clean it every third day, and to get all that gunk out of there. The sugars ferment and that\u2019s bad for the bird \u2014 and it ferments faster in hot weather.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"McLeod<\/p>\n

McLeod recommends a simple-to-make sugar water solution for the feeder, using granulated sugar, not powdered food. (Luke Johnson \/ The San Diego Union-Tribune)\n<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The sugar solution ferments, especially in summer heat, which is bad for the birds, so feeders should be cleaned out every third day, says Mark Hocking of California Backyard Birds in Encinitas. (Luke Johnson \/ The San Diego Union-Tribune)\n<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

A hummingbird perches on a feeder on McLeod\u2019s deck. (Luke Johnson \/ The San Diego Union-Tribune)\n<\/p>\n

Show Caption<\/p>\n

1 of 3<\/p>\n

McLeod recommends a simple-to-make sugar water solution for the feeder, using granulated sugar, not powdered food. (Luke Johnson \/ The San Diego Union-Tribune)\n<\/p>\n

Expand<\/a><\/p>\n

Look for feeders that have large necks that allow you easier access to clean inside. Try to find ones that have raised ports, not ones with replaceable flowers, because mold can get trapped in them. The ones with yellow flowers on the ports are also said to attract bees and wasps, so skip them.<\/p>\n

And look for units with water moats, either built into the feeder or that you can hang the feeder from. They prevent ants from crawling in. Just remember to keep the moat filled with water.<\/p>\n

Cleaning the feeder<\/p>\n

You\u2019ll need scrub brushes to get inside the bottle for cleaning. There are different opinions on how to clean. Some experts suggest using distilled white vinegar, others a 9-to-1 ratio of water and household bleach. McLeod said she\u2019s been cleaning her feeders for years with dish soap.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think the thing is to wash them,\u201d she said. \u201cThe big thing is you don\u2019t really need to disinfect them unless they get full of mold.\u201d Examine for black dots inside and around the feeder. That could be mold.<\/p>\n

Also scrub the threads of the bottle neck, the feeder section and its threads, as well as the ports. You can find tiny brushes that look like mascara wands to clean inside the ports. Rinse it all thoroughly and dry.<\/p>\n

Filling the feeder<\/p>\n

Once the feeder is cleaned and prepared, fill it with a solution of 1 cup water to a quarter-cup of granulated sugar (not powdered sugar, and not honey). The easiest way to dissolve the sugar is to measure and boil the water in a kettle and add it to sugar in a bowl. Stir and let it come to room temperature before filling your feeder.<\/p>\n

When you start out, just fill partway to get a sense of how many birds you\u2019re feeding to avoid wasting the sugar water. One way to expedite feeding is to make a larger batch and store that in the refrigerator for up to a week. But again, bring the sugar water to room temperature before filling the feeder.<\/p>\n

Placing the feeder<\/p>\n

There are a few factors to keep in mind when selecting a spot to hang feeders: sun exposure, territorial behavior and safety.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you\u2019re looking at a small space, keep it away from windows, because bird strike is a very common issue when they go into a feeder and they don\u2019t realize how close that window is,\u201d said Hannah St. John, conservation assistant with the San Diego Bird Alliance and coordinator for the 11-acre Anstine Nature Preserve<\/a> in Vista. \u201cThere are decals you can put on windows so birds register it\u2019s actually a solid surface.\u201d<\/p>\n

She added that if possible, keep feeders in the shade to keep the nectar from fermenting. If you put up multiple feeders and you find that you have territorial male hummingbirds (they\u2019re the ones with all the color), place feeders as far from each other as possible and even blocked from one another.<\/p>\n

\"AA small fountain at McLeod\u2019s home also serves as a stopping point for a lesser goldfinch. (Luke Johnson \/ The San Diego Union-Tribune)
\nConsidering water needs<\/p>\n

Another crucial component for hummingbirds is a clean water source. According to St. John, they enjoy water, not just for drinking, but also baths.<\/p>\n

\u201cHummingbirds also might get pollen on their feathers, so maybe that\u2019s a way to clean themselves off, but most birds do enjoy taking baths, and so they\u2019ll splash around a bit, and then that will kind of help them realign their feathers, and they usually preen after a quick bath.\u201d<\/p>\n

Some birds will come to still water, but moving water is attractive. Buy a fountain or place a small solar fountain in a flower pot saucer filled only an inch or so. Add rocks for perching. And clean it weekly to keep it free of debris and algae.<\/p>\n

Most of your setup will start as trial and error. It takes patience when you start \u2014 and even as you continue. You may get a single hummingbird for a while, then a couple and then, hopefully, more. Then not as many for a few days. If there are males, you\u2019ll see them driving off other males to protect what they see as their territory. Some may not return.<\/p>\n

Some weeks you\u2019ll need to fill the feeders daily and then think, \u201cWhere did they go?\u201d But stick with it. You\u2019re both witness to wildlife in all their behaviors \u2014 and because hummingbirds seem to be very tolerant of people, you can get truly up close and personal with them.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"For The Union-Tribune Among life\u2019s most magical moments is when you stand quietly in your garden and a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":394716,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[19505,181,74,76,75,420],"class_list":["post-394715","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-diego","tag-home-and-garden","tag-latest-headlines","tag-san-diego","tag-san-diego-headlines","tag-san-diego-news","tag-things-to-do"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/394715","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=394715"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/394715\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/394716"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=394715"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=394715"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=394715"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}