Hummingbird Products Attract More Than Birds

Businesses find hummingbird products draw birds, customers and sales.

By Elizabeth Spurbeck

These tiny garden jewels often return to places where they found good food supplies the year before. Carrying a selection of hummingbird products gives customers a variety of ways to attract these birds to their yards, Toellner said.

Water features represent another way to attract hummingbirds. “Hummingbirds must bathe. They can’t afford to get sugar water on their feathers,” Hawkins said. “Providing a place to bathe is just as valuable as a feeder.”

Shallow, moving water and mist is their bath of choice, Hawkins said. A shallow section of a pond, waterfall or mister can offer hummingbirds a safe place to bathe after filling up at a feeder.

“Misters attract hummingbirds,” said Sharon Stiteler, a birder and blogger from Birdchick.com. “They fly back and forth through the spray. They come to garden sprinklers as well.”

Hummingbird feeders sell very well in water garden retail stores, Toellner said. Most stock feeders by mid-April, he said.

When expanding inventory, pond and garden retailers tend to start with hummingbird products, such as feeders and nectar, which tend to sell the easiest, Toellner said. He added that hummingbird season falls around the same time people express interest in buying water features.

Stores can carry hummingbird nectar or tell customers about the birds’ favorite nectar substitute: sugar water. Experts said to use one-part sugar to four-parts water for a healthy, attractive concoction. To prevent fermentation and mold growth, which endanger hummingbird health, experts recommended cleaning feeders every four days and more often in warm weather.

To find out when to hang feeders in your area, visit Hummingbirds.net and The Hummingbird Society. Once fall arrives, owners can leave the feeders up for three weeks after they spot their last hummingbird.

 “It is better to leave [feeders] out too long for the birds that leave late,” Hawkins said. “You have a chance to help these hummingbirds.”

The color red proves popular with hummingbirds, Hawkins said. Birding experts recommended not using nectar with red dye added because it might harm the birds. The color yellow tends to attract bees and wasps.

Orange and red tubular flowers, such as trumpet honeysuckle (Lonicera sempervirens) and coral bells (Heuchera versicolor), also attract hummingbirds. Experts recommended planting them in the late spring to early fall, to ensure the flowers will bloom when the hummingbirds arrive. Retailers can consider adding these types of plants to their stock as well.

With customers more hesitant to make large-scale purchases in the changing economy, offering backyard birding products can supplement sales and entice return customers. To find information about the hummingbirds in your area visit Hummingbirds.net and The Hummingbird Society.

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Hummingbird Products Attract More Than Birds

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