10 Easy Ways to Attract Hummingbirds to Minnesota Yards

I've been watching all sorts of birds show up in my yard and as I was sitting on my deck the other night I wondered when the super small hummingbirds would be back.  According to HummingbirdCentral.com, hummingbirds have arrived in Minnesota!

10 Tips To Attract Hummingbirds to Yards

Now that I know the hummingbirds are back, I want to see a bunch this summer.  I did a little research and found these 10 tips to attract hummingbirds.  Thought I would share just in case you'd love to have these magnificent birds visit you at your home too.

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I thought that having red bird feeders was the key to having hummingbirds notice your yard but apparently, there are a bunch of tips and tricks to this hummingbird game.  Below are 10 tips that I've been working on implementing at my house:

1) Buy red flowers for your hanging baskets, outdoor planters, and flower gardens.  Hummingbirds love the color red!

2) Hang a hummingbird feeder up outside.

3)  Change the nectar for the hummingbird feeder often.

4) If you make your own nectar (which is really easy!), do NOT use red food dye or coloring.  (Here's the recipe if you'd like to make your own - boil 4 cups of water, pour in 1 cup of sugar, mix, let cool, and pour into the hummingbird feeder.)

5) Keep your hummingbird feeder clean.  Ants and other bugs will probably try to enjoy the food too so clean it out every once in a while so it is fresh for the birds.

6). Tie red ribbons in nearby trees and bushes.  Ok, the photo is a bit excessive...a few ribbons will work.

7) Plant trees and bushes for the birds to use as perches.  If you watch the hummingbirds, they will sit near the feeder and will usually come back and forth from a nearby spot.

8) Hang multiple feeders.  The birds establish territories so having feeders with some distance between them is also important.

9) Have a water source nearby.  This could be a bird bath or even another bird feeder with water.

10) In addition to a nectar feeder, also supply a protein feeder for the hummingbirds.  This is a new thing for me and something I haven't tried yet.  The birds need protein though and one of the easiest ways is to use a feeder that can hold a banana,  As the banana ripens, fruit flies will appear and that is an excellent source of protein for the hummingbirds.

11 Gross and Nasty Things in the Spring that People in Minnesota Hate

If you own a dog, right now in your yard are piles of squishy turds that have thawed out and you really don't want to scoop them up.  (If you enjoy this, please come to my house...I have a Saint Bernard.  #EnoughSaid). Picking up squishy dog poop is one of the things we truly hate doing as spring temps warm up our frozen state.  And just like an infomercial...but wait, there's more!  Yeah, dog poop isn't the only thing we are hating on.  See the rest of the list below.