By: Marikay Shellman,
BPW Colorado Virtual 
Chair, NFBPWC Environment and Sustainable Development Committee (2022-2024) 

Simple Acts:  Attracting Orioles and Hummingbirds to the “piece of Earth that you an influence” 

I set out Hummingbird feeders every year as soon as the first little guy comes winging by

 my window, some years as early as April.  Starting out years ago with one feeder, I now have 6 hummingbird feeders and one Oriole feeder.  It’s easy to make the mixture, one cup sugar to four cups of water, and challenging to keep up with filling those feeders, and so worth the cost of all that sugar!   

Three years ago, an Oriole showed up at one of the feeders, so I rushed out and bought an Oriole feeder.  Such pleasure!  Suggestions to attract Orioles (Baltimore and Orchard Orioles) include nectar feeders (recipe for nectar above), orange halves and jelly.  They also are attracted to yellow and white flowers and the bugs that are found in these flowers.  

Native plants with tubular-shaped flowers such as trumpet vine, honeysuckle (in which many of the hummingbirds nest), beebalm are a great source of nutrition for these birds as Native plants offer more nectar than other plants and attract insects that hummingbirds and Orioles eat.  Remember to plant in groups.  This type of mass planting is preferred by insects and birds alike. 

A suggested list of flowers to provide continual nectar (Rosann Kovalcik, Wild Birds Unlimited): Columbine, Phlox, Wild Geranium, Penstemon or Foxglove 

beardtongue, Blazing star, Beebalm, and Cardinal Flower.  

Trees and shrubs that provide dark fruits include: Serviceberry, Chokecherry, Cherry, Blueberry.  Caterpillars provide a much-needed protein source and they are attracted to all of the oak species, willows, cherries, prunes and birches. 

Another reason to leave your yard a bit untidy is that Orioles need long fiber strands to build their nests and hummingbirds use downy plant materials.   

Whether you have a yard or patio or balcony, creating a refuge for birds and insects with Native plants will create a good environment for not only wildlife, but also for you.