Hummers in Missouri??

I live in a suburb of St. Louis and am planning a garden to attract birds. Does anyone know if hummingbirds are in this area? I want to know if it would be worth it to invest in feeders and hummer friendly plants.

Also, I'd appreciate any relevant weblinks if anybody knows any too.

Thanks,

Maureen

Hi, mlm,--- no doubt hummingbirds are in st. louis if they're here in Cincy...we get 'Ruby Throated' here at our feeders and I believe that is the dominant species for St. L., too--sometimes as many as five or six at a time in the spring, summer and fall. (In the autumn they migrate to mexico and central america.)

Others here on DG get dozens of hummingbirds at their feeders, so I'm confident that if you plant some of their favorite plants you will get lots of them and have lots of fun next April and thru the summer. You may even attract a wandering 'rufous' species...

If you plant a Hummingbird garden you will probably attract lots of butterflies, too, and so there's a bonus for you. You can try for the endangered monarchs by planting a few easy to grow plants (such as milkweed)...

If you google "hummingbird" or "monarch butterfly" (if you're interested in butterflies) lots of excellent sites will come up with good info on migration, culture, species, plants and feeders...or you can search DG forums because there is a lot of advice posted here already.

Good luck. t.

Thanks tabasco, I hope I get a few to come my way :)

mlm--here's a nice HB site I just came across that maps the first arrivals from 2004...looks like it won't be too long before we have to put our feeders out (St. Louis looks like around April 1) ...unless we've had them out all winter, I guess!

http://www.hiltonpond.org/ThisWeek040308.html

I am 120 miles Northwest of you, and I have quite a few hummers each year. I put up several feeders, but they mostly ignore them, preferring my red passion vines and my cardinal climber. They hit my Stephanotis vine, but not as much as I was sure they would. They occasionally hit my clematis vines, but their favorite vine is the honeysuckle vine by my front door - they really fight over it!

I'm definately gonna give it a try...I'm planting red flowers too. I hope I have a camera by then. Thanks!