Foster Botanical Garden Hummingbird Guide

Honolulu, Honolulu CountyBotanical 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

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

The oldest of the five Honolulu Botanical Gardens, Foster Botanical Garden was established on land gifted by Queen Kamamalu in 1850 and developed by German botanist William Hillebrand. It occupies 13.5 acres in downtown Honolulu and displays a mature, magnificent collection of tropical plants including rare palms, an outdoor butterfly garden, a Prehistoric Glen of cycads, and 20+ City-designated "Exceptional Trees" — some of the largest specimens of their kind in the United States. As a gateway garden in the heart of Honolulu, it showcases native Hawaiian flora including the loulu fan palm (*Pritchardia* spp.) — the only palm native to Hawaii.

Hummingbirds to Watch For

• ʻApapane
• Japanese White-eye

Most Common Hummingbird

The most commonly sighted hummingbird at Foster Botanical Garden is the ʻApapane.

Special Guest Hummingbird

Watch for the ʻIʻiwi. possible in higher native forest nearby

Best Time to Visit

Plan your visit during January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December for the highest chance of hummingbird sightings. Early morning and late afternoon are typically the most active feeding times.

Plants and Habitat

• Loulu fan palm (*Pritchardia* spp.) — the only palm native to Hawaii; carefully nurtured at Foster
• ʻŌhiʻa lehua (*Metrosideros polymorpha*) — Hawaii's keystone native tree
• Native hibiscus / Pua aloalo (*Hibiscus brackenridgei*) — Hawaii's state flower
• Hala / Screwpine (*Pandanus tectorius*) — traditional Hawaiian plant
• Ti plant / Kī (*Cordyline fruticosa*) — traditional Polynesian canoe plant
• Plumeria / Melia — lei flower

NectarBloom Tip

Foster Botanical Garden is a convenient first stop for visitors arriving in Honolulu (4 miles from Waikīkī). The loulu palm collection is a highlight — these native Hawaiian palms are increasingly rare in the wild. Ask staff about the Exceptional Trees map, which guides you to the Cannonball Tree, Quipo tree, and massive fig specimens. For actual honeycreeper encounters, plan a half-day trip to higher-elevation native forest.

Visitor Notes

Admission required. Open daily except Christmas and New Year's Day. No tripods or commercial photography without a permit. ADA accessible on main paths.

Map

ʻApapane near Loulu fan palm (*Pritchardia* spp.) — the only palm native to Hawaii; carefully nurtured at Foster at Foster Botanical Garden in Hawaii

Open in Google Maps

Reviews and Sightings

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

Share a Visit

Sources

Nearby gardens in Hawaii

Hummingbirds at Harold L. Lyon Arboretum in Honolulu, Hawaii

Map

Honolulu County

Harold L. Lyon Arboretum

Honolulu

The only university-run botanical garden in the United States located in a tropical rainforest, Lyon Arboretum is tucked at the back of lush Mānoa Valley on Oʻahu, receiving an average of 165 inches of rain per year. Founded in 1918 and covering 200 acres, it holds more than 5,000 tropical plant species. Its Hawaiian Rare Plant Program — the only micropropagation lab of its kind — has conserved over 300 Hawaiian plant taxa and maintains 16,000+ individual plants of 160 native species. The ʻApapane is occasionally observed flying above the arboretum's ʻōhiʻa trees.

University ArboretumʻApapane

View garden →

Hummingbirds at Waimea Valley in Haleiwa, Hawaii

Map

Honolulu County

Waimea Valley

Haleiwa

A 1,875-acre ahupuaʻa (traditional Hawaiian land division from mountain to sea) on Oʻahu's North Shore, Waimea Valley is both a world-class botanical garden and a living cultural landscape. The botanical garden spreads across 300 acres featuring over 50 plant collections across 60 themed gardens, with more than 3,000 documented species from 930 genera. The conservation team actively restores native forest on the valley's ridges, planting koa and ʻōhiʻa lehua. The valley is also home to an endangered population of approximately 15 ʻAlae ʻUla (Hawaiian Moorhen) in the wetland estuary — one of only ~500 remaining.

Nature PreserveʻAlae ʻUla / Hawaiian Moorhen

View garden →

Visited Foster Botanical Garden?

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