It’s that time of year when we’re busy prepping the garden or doing yard work and we hear it—the unmistakable buzz of an iridescent fairy bird flitting past, zooming and zipping, searching for sustenance from the funny-shaped feeders we’ve come to associate with that most beloved little creature—the hummingbird.

In the Upper Delaware River region, hummingbirds typically return to our forests and yards during the first week or so of May, making this prime time to have those feeders ready for fueling up following a long migration. That means starting with clean feeders and filling them with a mixture of four parts water to one part table sugar (no honey, molasses or syrups), as recommended by the National Audubon Society and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Avoid commercial mixtures containing red dyes, which are unnecessary. 

The emerald-green ruby-throated hummingbird is eastern North America’s only breeding hummingbird. In fall, they migrate to Central America, crossing the Gulf of Mexico, but from early May to mid-September, they are ours to cherish. Marvel at the amazing fact that this bird beats its wings about 53 times per second and can instantaneously fly up, down, sideways and backwards with exquisite control. However, its unusually short legs prevent it from walking or hopping. 

Female hummers build their nests, composed of thistle or dandelion down held together with strands of spider silk and pine resin, 10 to 40 feet above ground in mostly deciduous trees, decorating the exterior with lichen and moss. Males pair with females briefly for courtship and mating, but live independently thereafter and often migrate earlier than females.

To learn more about the food and feeder preferences of 100 common feeder birds, including hummingbirds, visit feederwatch.org/learn/common-feeder-birds.