Looking for an easier way to attract those fast flying friends to your backyard? The Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Wildlife Resources Division (DNR/WRD) now offers hummingbird garden seed packets to enhance your landscape while providing a sought-after food source for Georgia’s hummingbirds.
“To provide rich food sources for our winged jewels and help beautify the neighborhood, hummingbird enthusiasts can plant these hummingbird garden seed packets in their yard,” advises Terry Johnson, WRD Nongame-Endangered Wildlife Program Manager.

The seed packet contains a mixture of Scarlet Sage Salvia (Salvia coccinea - 20-24” tall) and Four-o’clock (Mirabilis jalapa - 20-30” tall). These low maintenance perennials can easily be sowed by broadcasting over prepared, average soil in full sun, germinating from seed and providing nectar for hummingbirds for years to come.

“Scarlet Sage Salvia and Four-o’clocks are excellent nectar producing plants and have been identified as being heavily used by ruby-throated hummingbirds, the only hummingbird known to test in Georgia,” explains Johnson.
This diminutive bird must seek out about half its weight in food every day. Typical body weight of a ruby-throated hummingbird varies this time of year. The male birds weigh approximately 3 grams and the females weigh slightly more. To maintain their high metabolism, hummingbirds must feed on small, soft-bodied insects and easily digestible nectar from flowers or hummingbird feeders containing a mixture of sugar and water.

Homeowners who seem to enjoy the greatest success in attracting hummingbirds to their yards combine the use of feeders with planting flowers that produce an abundance of nectar.
“Four-o’ clocks are also great plants for attracting hummingbird moths,” says Johnson. “As is often the case, when you help one nectar feeder, you help others too.”

To receive a free hummingbird garden seed packet and Hummingbirds of Georgia information sheet, please send a First Class, $0.39 stamped, self-addressed #10 letter sized envelope to: Hummingbird Garden Seed Packet, DNR/WRD, Nongame-Endangered Wildlife Program, 116 Rum Creek Drive, Forsyth, Georgia 31029. Only one packet per customer please.

For more information on hummingbirds in Georgia, visit www.georgiawildlife.com (click on “Nongame Animals & Plants”). Georgians can support the conservation of hummingbirds and other nongame wildlife by purchasing a license plate featuring a bald eagle or a hummingbird for their vehicle, or by donating to the “Give Wildlife a Chance” State Income Tax Checkoff.

Sales of the wildlife license plates are the primary source of funding for the WRD Nongame Wildlife and Natural Heritage Section.