When I was a teenager, I discovered that if I sat near a hummingbird feeder long enough with my finger resting near the perch of a feeding port, hummingbirds would eventually land on me while feeding. I hadn’t ever heard of anyone else doing such a thing and that experience has stuck with me all of these years, eventually leading to the creation of our 2-in-1 feeder, the Sugar Station Mini, that allows you to hang the feeder and hand feed hummingbirds. I want as many people as possible to experience the joy of hand feeding hummingbirds, and so I’m writing this guide so that you too can experience one of life’s small pleasures.
Step 1. Get your hummingbirds acclimated to your feeding area.
The first step in being able to hand feed hummingbirds reliably is setting up a feeder in the place you want to hand feed them from. For me, this is near the chairs on my front porch. We have two feeders that are hanging there every single day with fresh nectar. In my trials, it doesn’t particularly matter if there is nearby shade or if the feeder is in a sunny spot. What matters is that the hummingbirds are coming to it often. Once you’ve established a feeding location that hummingbirds frequent, you’re ready to proceed. This process could take anywhere from a day to a week.
Step 2. Sit by your hummingbird feeders in the mornings and evenings.
In my observations of ruby-throated hummingbirds, I've found that they are most active at my feeders in the mornings and evenings, and so this time period will give you the best chance of getting them acclimated to you quickly. From what I can understand after they wake up in the morning they need to find energy fast, and your feeders need to be a reliable way to do that. Similarly, right before going to sleep they get a few slurps in before nightfall.
When sitting out by your feeders I’d recommend being within a few feet of your feeder. Stay still and try not to move much. I find wearing sunglasses could potentially cause them to be less fearful when you look directly at them, but I have no proof of this. This step is where you’re going to need patience and it'll probably take 15-30 minutes if the hummingbirds do not know you yet. When the hummingbirds inevitably start flying up to your face to inspect you, just stay still and don’t flinch, as doing so only further prolongs this process.
Once the hummingbirds are reliably landing on the feeder with you sitting nearby without fear, you’re ready for step 3 .
Step 3. Hold the feeder or sit it in your lap.
If you’re sitting in something like a camping chair, they usually have armrests that you can rest your arm on while holding the feeder out In front of you. The primary thing here is that you are physically touching the feeder, but it's far enough away from your face that the hummingbirds feel like they can run away if necessary. Alternatively, though this may take longer for success, you can rest the feeder on your lap. The problem with this is if you have armrests, the hummingbirds may feel like its a tough area to escape from. I personally just hold the feeder up in front of me with my arm resting on the chair.
Once the hummingbirds actually start eating from the feeder while you’re touching it, you’re ready for the next step. Bonus trust points if they’re landing on the feeder while you’re holding it.
Step 4. It’s time to use a handheld feeder for the first time.
If you have one of our Sugar Station feeders, the same exact vials they are used to eating out of can be removed from one of the clips and held in your hand. This is a huge benefit as this is something they are familiar with now. If you don’t have a sugar station, though i highly recommend it, there are various online sellers that sell cheap handheld feeders. These may take longer to use though because they are not the same thing they have been eating out of.
IMPORTANT NOTE: To encourage them to eat from your hands, make sure you take the primary feeder away so that the only thing they could possibly eat from is what you are holding.
Once again being patient here is key. They will likely buzz by few times and even come up to your face. They may fly around your head and get a good look at you. Whatever you do, do not make any sudden movements or you’ll lose their trust. With enough time and luck, once the hummingbirds feel comfortable they will indeed eat out of your hands. If you have a railing or something to lean on, this may be a good time to do so, as holding your hands out can get tiring.
Step 5. Get them to land on you!
When they eat out of your hands for the first time, they may not land on you directly. If you have a small container style hand held feeder you can cup your hands around it to give them a place to land. If you’re using a sugar station vial, you can put your finger in-front and below the feeding port to give them a place to land.
Step 6. Enjoy your experience handfeeding hummingbirds!
By this point, you should’ve been successful in handfeeding hummingbirds and now you’ve truly experienced the joy of hummingbirds! Each time you go out to handfeed your hummingbirds, the process will become shorter and shorter. Now that our birds know us, we can immediately handfeed them when we get outside. Thanks for reading and share this article with others that love hummingbirds as much as you do!
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