Your watchful eyes and survey participation help biologists learn more about the state’s hummingbirds. Hang feeders April 1 through November 1 to be a part of science.
SAVE A STAMP!
Be on the lookout –
Help state biologists discover where Black-chinned Hummingbirds (link to black-chinned anchor on this page) are raising chicks! Reports over the last several years have confirmed it’s nesting in western Oklahoma and possibly extending its range further eastward in Oklahoma.
Photo Credit:Steve Metz
Attract Hummingbirds with Feeders
Hummingbirds consume half their weight in sugars every day. While their natural food source is nectar from flowers, they readily take to feeders.
Hummingbird Feeder Basics:
- Fill feeders with sugar water: exactly one part sugar to four parts boiled water. (Absolutely AVOID honey or sugar substitutes.)
- Hang feeders as long as birds use them: approximately April – November.
- Place feeders in the shade.
- Hang multiple feeders far apart to avoid competition between birds.
- Clean feeders with hot water and vinegar – once a week during cool weather, every three to four days during hot weather.
- If feeders are not cleaned, a deadly fungus may develop in the feeder.
- Keep bees, wasps and other flying insects away! These flying pests are attracted to the color yellow. Remove yellow feeder ports to discourage feeder visitation.
Common Feeder Misconceptions:
- There is no need to put red dye in sugar-water: the red ports on the feeders provide enough color to attract the birds
- Leaving a feeder up during fall will not delay hummingbird migration. Hummingbirds leave when they’re ready, and a feeder will provide an additional energy source for those with late departures.
Attract Hummers the Natural Way
Feeders are supplemental food sources. Hummingbirds also eat gnat-sized flying-insects and are drawn to tube-shaped flowers.
Plant after April 15. Don’t let an early-spring freeze kill your newly, planted seedlings!
Select plants with tube-shaped flowers that are red to pink in color. Hummingbirds find food by sight not smell.
View a list of recommended plants by downloading this brochure or purchasing the guidebook “Landscaping for Wildlife".
Oklahoma’s Hummingbirds
Oklahoma’s smallest birds are the only birds that can fly backward, forward, upside down and hover. They average 3.5 inches in length a weigh the equivalent of a penny. Their wing muscles are proportionally larger than another other bird species. They use them to beat their wings 70 times a second while hovering.
Hummingbirds belong to a group of birds called neotropical migrants. The state’s tiniest visitors fly 500 miles across the Gulf of Mexico two times each year as they travel between North America and Mexico/Central America.
Four species of hummingbird visit Oklahoma.
Black-chinned Hummingbird: Seen in the far western part of Oklahoma and known to nest there. The species is nesting in larger numbers over a larger portion of the state, however. It may also be seen statewide at feeders during fall migration. Photo Credit: Steve Metz
Broad-tailed Hummingbird: Rare visitors to western Oklahoma. They are rarely sighted elsewhere in the state. Photo Credit: Bill Horn.
