Many of us try to eat certain types of food in order to stay healthy or fuel a workout. One of the most popular regimens is the high-protein diet, where a significant portion of daily calories comes from sources like lean meats, eggs, beans, and nuts. Hummingbirds are the ultimate athletes of the avian world, and they, too, favor a high-protein diet. In fact, during the breeding season, around 80% of their diet consists of protein and meat. But their version of a protein shake isn't one you’d want to share. Their primary protein sources are soft-bodied insects and spiders, which provide the essential amino acids needed to repair flight muscles and produce eggs.

If you spy a returning or nesting hummingbird in your yard in April, it is often running on empty. It has either crossed the Gulf of Mexico and been traveling up the coast, or it has been scouring the neighborhood for tasty treats for hungry nippers. While nectar provides energy for flight, protein is a vital building block. By providing a protein station to attract hummingbirds, you're actively participating in the survival of a species that weighs less than a nickel. Yes, of course nectar is important. But if you want the hummers to stay in your yard rather than just passing through, you need to offer them a full-course meal.

Hummers migrate on a strict internal clock. Depending on your latitude, they can arrive as early as February in the Pacific Northwest or as late as May in the higher elevations of the Rockies. It’s a good idea to put out your feeders and protein stations at least two weeks before the expected arrival date. This ensures that the first birds to arrive (known as the scouts) mark your yard as a reliable food source – and makes it far more likely they will nest near you (if they haven’t already) and keep coming back for more tasty treats. Here is how to create a protein-rich fruit fly buffet for these precious jewel-toned visitors.

Why Hummers Need Protein Now

Hummingbirds are very hungry birds. To put this in perspective, they need to consume roughly half their body weight in sugar and hundreds of insects every single day to feed their high metabolisms. A nesting female may spend up to 80% of her day foraging for insects to feed not just herself, but her rapidly growing chicks. Nectar from feeders and key hummer-friendly flowers can provide the glucose that keeps them darting like tiny, self-powered paper airplanes. But hummingbirds cannot live on nectar and sugar-water alone.

They also need to build and maintain muscle, and that requires protein. Furthermore, protein also helps these fast-flying pollinators grow their iridescent feathers. Without it, they cannot maintain the structural integrity that allows them to hover. In April, this need reaches a fever pitch. Female hummingbirds are in construction mode, using spider silk to weave tiny nests and preparing to lay eggs. The eggs themselves require significant protein and calcium stores from the mother's body. Protein gives the kick to help mama hummers get through the breeding and nesting season.

Providing a protein bar has another purpose. On chilly April nights, hummingbirds enter a state of suspended animation to save energy. When they wake up, they need a massive influx of proteins to reboot. So how can you do your bit, and what exactly is this protein buffet, anyway?

How Your Fruit Bowl Can Help

Setting out fruit bowls can help local hummers get protein. Fruit that contains protein, you might be asking? What I’m referring to are the swarms of insects that want to share the contents if they get left a little too long. These are mostly fruit flies (Drosophila melanogaster) and ants, and it is these small bugs that give hummingbirds protein. The hummers will happily devour the protein-rich fruit flies and the ants that treat the fruit bowl as a siren song.

Take the term “fruit bowl” loosely. For your garden-based protein bar, you can use anything that works – the key is elevation and accessibility. As part of a respectable hummingbird sanctuary, I like to use a hanging basket to hold overripe fruit scraps. Think of it as a homemade hummingbird feeder that costs you zero dollars. Use the peels, cores, and mushy bits of bananas, melons, or berries. These are just pieces of fruit you would otherwise toss, so this birdy buffet needn’t cost you a dime.

You can also place the fruit in a mesh bag, then hang the bag near your nectar feeder. Soon, it will be surrounded by a cloud of fruit flies, and hummers will come in for a meal. They love to catch the bugs mid-air (a behavior called hawking) and these flying protein snacks are packed with the fats and proteins hummers crave. By hanging the 'protein bar' directly above the nectar, you create a multi-course meal. The birds will sip their sugar, then dart upward to catch the fruit flies that naturally escape from the jar’s vents. It’s effortless, tidy, and keeps the meat and sugar courses perfectly aligned for a hungry hummer.

If you don’t want to DIY this, you can use a high-quality saucer-style feeder to house the fruit. The Aspects HummZinger HighView Hummingbird Feeder, available from Amazon, has a simple, leak-proof design. The feeding ports provide the perfect exit for protein-rich clouds of fruit flies. Place a few bits of fruit in the bowl, snap the lid back on, and hang on a hook near or above the nectar feeder. Because the HummZinger has a perch, the hummingbirds can sit and pick the flies right out of the air as they emerge from the ports, or dart up from the nectar feeder below.

Or, if you fancy something even more bespoke for hungry hummers, you can treat yourself to a Humm-Bug Hummingbird Feeder. This unique feeder, available via the Wild Bird Store, houses fruit scraps while allowing flies to exit through small holes for the birds to harvest. This keeps your yard looking tidy, while generating a constant supply of live protein. It comes with a cable to hang it near nectar rich flowers.

Great Protein Buffet Nibbles

But that’s not all, folks! There are other protein dish options. If live insects for hummingbird feeding freak you out, you can buy dried insects and puff them up in water. Yes, still a bit icky, but to a hummingbird, these reconstituted bugs are natural treats. Another real-insect option is a box of live mealworms. You can purchase these at the garden store. Take the box home then release the mealworms on the bird feeder. The hummingbirds will have a blast hunting them down and eating them.

Another low-ick option is a commercial hummingbird food with added protein. This can include any number of common ingredients, like egg white powder, high-protein spirulina powder, or even brewer’s yeast. To help you transition from simple sugar to a full-spectrum diet this spring, these curated items can help you provide the meat course your nesting hummingbirds need:

Unwanted Pests and Other Problems

No great garden treat comes without a little risk, even your modest fruit fly buffet. While rotting fruit is great for attracting protein, it can also attract uninvited guests like wasps, yellow jackets, larger birds, and raccoons. To keep bees at bay, ensure your nectar feeders have bee guards, small mesh covers that prevent bees from reaching the sugar, but which allow long hummingbird tongue through. When it comes to wasp proofing, wasps are often attracted to the same fermenting smells as fruit flies. If they become aggressive, move your fruit-fly station 10-15 feet (3-4.5m) away from your nectar feeders. This decoy strategy often works beautifully. The wasps stay with the fruit, while the hummers can enjoy the nectar in peace.

While hummingbirds do eat ants, a massive trail can crawl into nectar feeders and drown, fouling the water. Use an ant moat (a small cup of water that sits above the feeder) to create a barrier they cannot cross. You can get pretty tulip-style shaped ant moats such as Holahoma Glass Ant Moats, available from Walmart, to add an effective moat and also a pretty hummingbird station accent. Finally, be mindful of “bully birds” like blue jays or crows. They might be attracted to the fruit or activity. If your feeders keep getting tipped over, look for models without perches. Hummingbirds are perfectly capable of hovering while they eat. Many larger birds are not, and will find the perchless feeders too much work to bother with.

Other Ways to Help Your Hummers

Avoid the urge to over-prune in April. Those dead flower stalks and leaf piles are where spiders (a primary protein source) hide. A balanced diet for a hummer includes nectar from wildflowers, sugar-water from the feeder, small bugs and insects for protein. This combination is important to keep them in top form. As spring kicks in, be sure to add to your nectar-rich flowers and plants to give hummingbird friends a helping hand.

Check your cleaning habits. If your feeders have been in the shed all winter, soak them in a 1:10 solution of bleach and water, then rinse thoroughly. Mold (black spots) can be fatal to hummingbirds, causing tongue swelling that prevents eating. Before spring flowers bloom, try a few visual decoys to make your protein buffet even more desirable (and visible!). Tie 10-inch (25cm) lengths of red tape or ribbons to branches. This acts as a signal to high-flyers that your yard is the hot spot for tasty treats, even if your pollinator-friendly perennials are still waking up.

Shop Hummer Essentials

You've sorted out your protein bar, prepped your sticky fruit slices for the fruit flies and ants, and stashed away some mealworms for good measure, but if you still need some help with the core staples, try these hummer-friendly essentials. From natural fibers to sugar-rich nibbles, these curated finds bring balance to your hummingbird sanctuary.

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