Nemours Estate Hummingbird Guide

    Wilmington, New Castle CountyHistoric Estate GardenAdmission: Paid

    Shop & Support the Mission

    Fresh nectar in a minute.

    Every bag of NectarBloom™ funds the guides, the Hummingbird Trail, the lab testing, and the free care resources on this site. When you buy our nectar, you help us keep hummingbird education open, honest, and growing — for every bird lover, everywhere.

    NectarBloom 2 lb bag — pure cane sugar hummingbird nectar

    NectarBloom™ — 2 lb Bag

    Fresh nectar in a minute.

    No boiling, no dye. The same sugar hummingbird flowers make. One ingredient, nothing else. Makes up to 160 oz of fresh feeder nectar per bag.

    • Fresh nectar in a minute: measure, stir until clear, and pour
    • No boiling, no dye
    • The same sugar hummingbird flowers make
    • One ingredient, nothing else: 100% pure cane sugar
    • Lab tested. Resealable 2 lb bag, sourced and packed in the USA

    1 Bag · 2 lb

    $21.99

    Free shipping included

    Best Value

    2 Bags · Season Supply

    $39.88

    Free shipping included

    Direct orders are temporarily sold out. NectarBloom™ is still available on Amazon.

    Buy on Amazon

    Ships fast via Amazon Prime

    See full product details

    Direct orders temporarily unavailable

    “Your purchase isn’t just nectar — it’s how we keep this hummingbird care library free, accurate, and growing.”

    Thank you for flying with us

    Overview

    Nemours Estate is a stunning 300-acre French-inspired estate built by Alfred I. du Pont in 1909–1910, featuring one of the finest formal French gardens in North America. The mile-long vista garden includes reflecting pools, colonnades, fountains, and expansive parterres inspired by the Palace of Versailles. The estate reopened to the public after major renovations in 2022 and surrounds the formal gardens with naturalistic woodland grounds where Ruby-throated Hummingbirds are most commonly encountered in summer.

    Hummingbirds to Watch For

    • • Ruby-throated

    Most Common Hummingbird

    The most commonly sighted hummingbird at Nemours Estate is the Ruby-throated.

    Best Time to Visit

    Plan your visit during June, July, August, September for the highest chance of hummingbird sightings. Early morning and late afternoon are typically the most active feeding times.

    Plants and Habitat

    • • Bee balm (*Monarda didyma*) — perennial borders
    • • Garden phlox (*Phlox paniculata*) — summer borders
    • • Native trumpet vine (*Campsis radicans*) — on estate walls and structures
    • • Cardinal flower (*Lobelia cardinalis*) — garden margins
    • • Salvia species — summer annuals
    • • Trumpet honeysuckle (*Lonicera sempervirens*)

    NectarBloom Tip

    The formal garden is most impressive — but for hummingbirds, walk the perimeter where the formal garden transitions to naturalistic woodland plantings. These border areas contain the native and semi-native perennials that attract the most hummingbird activity, typically July through late August.

    Visitor Notes

    Admission required. Open Tuesday–Sunday; closed Monday except holidays. Guided house and garden tours available. ADA accessible on main paths and terraces.

    Map

    Ruby-throated near Bee balm (*Monarda didyma*) — perennial borders at Nemours Estate in Delaware

    Open in Google Maps

    Reviews and Sightings

    Visited Nemours Estate? Share what you saw — your photos, ratings, and notes help fellow flock-watchers know what to expect.

    Share a Visit

    Sources

    Nearby gardens in Delaware

    View Mt. Cuba Center in Hockessin, DelawareHummingbirds at Mt. Cuba Center in Hockessin, Delaware
    Map

    New Castle County

    Mt. Cuba Center

    Hockessin

    Mt. Cuba Center is widely regarded as one of the premier native plant botanical gardens in North America. Set on 50+ acres of display gardens and more than 1,000 acres of natural lands in the rolling Piedmont hills near Wilmington, Mt. Cuba was established as the private estate of the Lammot du Pont Copeland family and opened to the public as a non-profit botanical garden. Its rigorous trial garden program evaluates native plants for their ecological value to pollinators — including hummingbirds. The garden holds over 6,500 plant accessions and runs a Certificate in Ecological Gardening program.

    Native Plant GardenRuby-throated

    View garden →

    View Winterthur Museum, Garden & Library in Winterthur, DelawareHummingbirds at Winterthur Museum, Garden & Library in Winterthur, Delaware
    Map

    New Castle County

    Winterthur Museum, Garden & Library

    Winterthur

    Winterthur is the former country estate of Henry Francis du Pont (1880–1969), now a world-class museum set within a naturalistic garden of nearly 1,000 acres of meadows, woodlands, streams, and ponds. Du Pont spent a lifetime developing the garden as a succession of seasonal bloom, creating one of the finest examples of American naturalistic garden design. The property contains meadows, native hardwood forests, ponds, and themed gardens including the Azalea Woods, Sundial Garden, and the Enchanted Woods — where Clethra alnifolia 'Hummingbird' is specifically documented.

    Historic Estate GardenRuby-throated

    View garden →

    View Brandywine Creek State Park in Wilmington, DelawareHummingbirds at Brandywine Creek State Park in Wilmington, Delaware
    Map

    New Castle County

    Brandywine Creek State Park

    Wilmington

    Brandywine Creek State Park is Delaware's premier natural area park, encompassing more than 900 acres of rolling Piedmont meadowlands, mature forest, and river corridor in northern Delaware. The park features 14+ miles of trails and two of Delaware's first designated nature preserves: the Fresh Water Marsh and the Tulip Tree Woods. The park actively manages its meadowlands to provide habitat for native pollinators, and the riparian corridor along Brandywine Creek is one of Delaware's most reliable hummingbird locations from late April through September.

    State ParkRuby-throated

    View garden →

    Visited Nemours Estate?

    Share your visit — a photo, a rating, and a quick note help fellow flock-watchers know what to expect. No account required.

    Share a Visit

    Fresh nectar in a minute.

    Buy on Amazon