Create a Hummingbird Habitat in Your Own Backyard

Hummingbirds are truly the jewels of the sky! The hummingbird migration in Utah typically starts in late April to mid-May and lasts through September. 

It’s one of the most exciting times of the year to be a home gardener. And if you want a visit from these birds, the good news is that turning your yard into a hummingbird habitat doesn’t take much at all.

In this post, Glover Nursery will be sharing our best tips to ensure your backyard is the ultimate hummingbird habitat in Utah.

Hummingbird Basics

Before you start planning your hummingbird habitat, it helps to know a little about the birds themselves. When do hummingbirds come to Utah, and what species stop by? Knowing the basics will help you make better choices about what to plant and where to place things in your yard.

Common Species of Hummingbirds in Utah

Utah is home to several hummingbird species during the warmer months, though you won’t see all of them in every part of the state.

According to USU Extension, the black-chinned, broad-tailed, and calliope hummingbirds are the most commonly found species in Utah during summer. Anna’s and Costa’s hummingbirds are found across the broader Southwest, but sightings in Utah are relatively rare.

The black-chinned hummingbird is the one you’re most likely to spot along the Wasatch Front. The males have a dark head with a thin band of purple at the throat, and females are plainer with a pale belly. They tend to show up early in the season and are comfortable in residential yards.

Broad-tailed hummingbirds are a mountain species. Males produce a distinctive metallic wing trill you can hear from a good distance away. According to the USDA Forest Service, that sound is created by specialized flight feathers and can carry roughly 100 yards. You’ll find them in foothill and canyon areas around the Salt Lake Valley.

Calliope hummingbirds are the smallest breeding birds in North America. Males weigh about the same as a penny. They tend to nest at higher elevations in Utah and are less common in valley neighborhoods, though they do pass through during migration.

Rufous hummingbirds don’t breed in Utah, but they’re regular visitors on their way through. Some have been tracked flying over 2,000 miles during migration. They’re also known for being feisty at feeders and will chase off birds twice their size.

Hummingbird Habitat Needs

All hummingbirds need the same basic things: food, water, shelter, and safe nesting sites. If your yard already has flowering plants, some tree cover, and a water source, you’re several steps closer to a complete habitat already!

Their primary food is flower nectar, which gives them the sugar they need to fuel their extremely high metabolism. They also eat small insects and spiders for protein.

For nesting, females look for sheltered spots on thin branches in trees, shrubs, or vines. They build tiny cup-shaped nests from moss, lichens, plant fibers, and spider silk. The silk allows the nest to stretch as the chicks grow. 

Males don’t help with nesting but instead focus on defending feeding territory.

When Do Hummingbirds Come Back to Utah?

This is one of the most popular bird-related questions we hear at the nursery every spring. 

The short answer is that most migratory hummingbirds arrive in Utah sometime between late April and mid-May. Then they typically stay through September before heading south again.

The exact timing varies from year to year based on weather patterns and temperatures. Males arrive first, usually a week or so ahead of the females. They come in early to stake out territory and establish feeding areas before the females show up to choose nesting sites.

So, when to put out hummingbird feeders in Utah? If you want to be ready for them, plan to have your feeders out and your garden in shape by mid-April. That way, the earliest arrivals will find food waiting for them.

Males lead the way, followed by females about a week later. The males you see in your yard in late April may well be the same ones that visited last year. Hummingbirds show strong site fidelity, a behavior well documented through banding studies.

This means that they remember productive feeding locations and often return to the same yards, feeders, and nesting areas on nearly the same dates each season.

Simple Ways to Turn Your Backyard Into a Utah Hummingbird Habitat

You don’t need a large property or a professional landscape plan to attract hummingbirds. The sections below cover the most effective things you can do to attract them: food, water, shelter, and safety.

Note: This guide only covers preparation from April/mid-May through September. For tips on supporting hummingbirds later in the season, see our guide on how to attract hummingbirds in fall.

Provide Nectar 

When most people think of feeding hummingbirds, it’s most likely going to be a red plastic feeder full of sugar water. Yes, that’s one option which we’ll cover below. But the best and most reliable way to attract hummingbirds is through nectar-producing plants in your garden.

Native nectar-producing plants are the foundation of any hummingbird habitat. Hummingbirds have co-evolved with these species and are naturally drawn to them. A well-planned mix of native flowers can provide an uninterrupted food source from the time hummingbirds arrive in spring through fall.

And because hummingbirds are adapted to them, a yard full of native species becomes a natural nesting area. Females will be more likely to stick around and raise young if they can find both food and shelter in the same spot.

Many of these are available at Glover Nursery, and our staff can help you choose varieties suited to your specific yard conditions.

Native Nectar Sources 

These plants are well-suited to Utah’s climate and alkaline soils. Many are low-water once established, which makes them a practical fit for the Salt Lake Valley. 

If you’re irrigating with secondary water, some plants handle the higher salt content better than others. Check our list of alkaline and secondary water-tolerant plants before choosing your plantings.

If you’d like to start with a recommendation, we would put Zauschneria first. Also known as Epilobium, this plant blooms from midsummer into fall when many other nectar sources are fading. 

Its bright orange-red tubular flowers are a magnet for hummingbirds during the late-season push before migration. It’s among the best water-wise perennials for Utah.

Excellent Non-Native Nectar Sources 

These aren’t native to Utah, but they still perform well here and produce flowers that hummingbirds visit. Mixing a few of these in with your native plantings can help extend the bloom season and fill gaps.

Put Up a Hummingbird Feeder 

A hummingbird feeder is a great supplement to natural nectar sources, but we iterate that it’s not a replacement. If your yard already has nectar-rich plants, a feeder will give hummingbirds one more reason to visit and stay.

The best feeder solution is simple: four parts water to one part plain white granulated sugar. Bring the water to a boil, stir in the sugar until it dissolves, and let it cool completely before filling your feeder. That’s it.

A few rules to follow: 

1. Never use honey, brown sugar, organic sugar, or artificial sweeteners. These can cause illness and encourage bacterial growth. Unrefined sugars can contain iron from molasses, which is toxic to hummingbirds.
2. Never add red dye. It’s unnecessary and may be harmful. The red color of the feeder itself is enough to attract hummingbirds
3. Hummingbirds can get territorial around feeders. If you notice one bird chasing all the others away, try hanging a second feeder out of sight from the first. Spacing them apart or placing them around corners of the house will reduce conflict and let more birds feed.
4. Hanging your feeder in partial shade will slow down spoilage, especially during the hottest weeks of summer. This helps the solution stay fresh for longer and gives you a little more time between cleanings.

Clean Your Feeder Regularly 

Sugar water spoils, and spoiled sugar water can grow mold and bacteria that are harmful and sometimes fatal to hummingbirds.

In moderate temperatures, change the solution every three to five days. When it’s hot, you’ll need to swap it out every one to two days. If the solution looks cloudy or you see anything growing inside the feeder, it’s time to change it.

When you clean the feeder, rinse it thoroughly with hot water and use a small brush to scrub the ports and any hard-to-reach areas. Avoid dish soap if you can, since soap residue can linger and isn’t great for the birds. 

If you need something stronger, a diluted vinegar rinse works well. Just make sure to rinse completely with clean water afterward.

Provide Water 

Standard birdbaths tend to be too deep for hummingbirds. Their tiny bodies need very shallow water to bathe and drink safely. If you already have a birdbath, fill it partway with pebbles and small rocks to create shallow areas where hummingbirds can stand.

Hummingbirds are also drawn to moving water. They’ll bathe in sprinklers, misters, and water droplets that have collected on large leaves. Planting Cannas and Hostas in your yard will create a natural birdbath for hummingbirds.

Offer Perching Sites, Nesting Sites, and Nesting Materials 

Hummingbirds will create their home in a place with natural materials readily available. 

Providing perching sites, nesting sites and nesting material is a great way to encourage hummingbirds to take up residence in your yard. And keep them from using your yard as just a pass through.

Trees, shrubs and vines offer protection from predators. These are also the perfect place to build a nest. Preferable nesting materials include moss, lichens, and fur. Pappus from seeds such as dandelions, thistle, aster and asclepias cotton also make great nesting materials. 

Surprisingly, spider webs are an especially important nest component. Hummingbirds use spider silk as a binding agent in nest construction. The silk gives the nest flexibility and allows it to stretch as the chicks grow. This is one more reason to go easy on the pesticides and let spiders do their thing in your garden.

Prevent Deadly Window Strikes 

Window collisions are one of the leading causes of bird death in North America. It’s estimated that 365 million to one billion birds die from window strikes each year. Hummingbirds, with their fast flight speeds and small size, are especially at risk here.

Birds hit windows because they see reflections of sky or trees on the glass and don’t recognize them as a solid surface. This happens most often at dawn and dusk and during migration season.

There are a few easy things you can do; one is to close blinds or curtains on windows facing your garden. Then move indoor plants away from windows so birds don’t try to fly toward them. 

The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service also notes that most fatal collisions happen at homes and low-rise buildings, so residential areas are the most at risk here.

Lights Out During Migration 

Millions of birds migrate through Utah, and many of them travel at night. In spring, that’s Marchthrough May. In the fall, August through October.

Bright outdoor lights can disorient migrating birds, leading to exhaustion, collisions, and death.

The Utah Division of Wildlife Resources (DWR) recommends turning off non-essential outdoor lights during peak migration. If you still need outdoor lighting, choose downward-directed, shielded fixtures and avoid blue or cool-toned bulbs.

Keep Cats Indoors 

This is a tough one for some people to hear. Free-roaming domestic cats are the single greatest source of direct, residential-caused bird mortality in the United States. The American Bird Conservancy estimates that cats kill roughly 2.4 billion birds each year in the U.S. alone.

The Utah DWR identifies domestic cats as one of the top predators of small birds. And so we also recommend keeping cats indoors or in enclosed outdoor spaces to protect both the birds and the cats.

If your cat enjoys the outdoors as most do, a screened porch, a catio, or supervised leash time could help reduce bird mortality. These give your pet fresh air and stimulation without putting nesting hummingbirds at risk.

Use Organic Gardening Practices 

Spiders and insects are a protein source for hummingbirds. They feed them to their young and rely on them throughout the nesting season. However, pesticides reduce these food sources and can poison the birds directly.

As mentioned above, hummingbirds also depend on spider webs for nest building. A yard sprayed heavily with insecticides will have fewer spiders and fewer webs, which means fewer materials for nesting.

Keeping an organic garden lets the natural food chain work as it should. A well-balanced backyard where insects, spiders, and birds coexist is healthier for all of them and more interesting for you to watch.

Ready to Create a Hummingbird Haven?

If you’re not sure where to start, stop by Glover Nursery. Our team can help you choose the right plants that best fit your yard’s soil and water conditions. We also carry native and non-native nectar plants, feeders, birdbaths, and everything else you’ll need to get started.

If you’re interested in supporting other species too, our backyard wildlife habitat guide covers broader steps for the whole yard.

Utah Hummingbird FAQs

Do hummingbirds stay in Utah during the winter? 

Most hummingbird species in Utah are migratory and head south by late September or October. 

Anna and Costa hummingbirds can sometimes be found year-round in the southern parts of the state, but sightings are fairly uncommon. You shouldn’t expect winter hummingbird visitors along the Wasatch Front.

What is a hummingbird’s biggest enemy? 

Free-roaming cats are the top direct threat. Window strikes are the second leading cause and account for hundreds of millions of bird deaths annually across North America. 

Habitat loss and pesticide use also take a toll on hummingbird populations. The good news is that all of these are problems homeowners can help address.

Should I stop feeding hummingbirds in September? 

No. According to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, keeping feeders up through the fall can still help late-season stragglers fuel up for the trip south.

When should I stop feeding hummingbirds in Utah? 

Keep your feeders up and filled for at least two to three weeks after you see the last hummingbird. Along the Wasatch Front, this usually means leaving them out through mid-October.

Do hummingbirds come back to the same house every year? 

They often do. Hummingbirds display a behavior called site fidelity, meaning they return to places where they’ve previously found food and nesting. Banding studies confirmed that individual birds do return to the same feeders and yards around the same dates year after year.

Broad-tailed hummingbird females have shown return rates as high as 70% to previous breeding sites. And the best way to encourage repeat visits is to keep your feeders in the same spot and maintain your nectar plants. 

But when do hummingbirds return to Utah? They travel from wintering grounds in Mexico and Central America, arriving in Utah from late April onward. If you’ve built out a good hummingbird habitat the previous year, expect the same birds to come back in the next one!