Chicago Botanic Garden Hummingbird Guide

Glencoe, Cook CountyBotanical GardenAdmission: Free

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NectarBloom™ — 2 lb Bag

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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

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Overview

One of the world's great living museums, the Chicago Botanic Garden features 28 gardens and four natural areas across 385 acres on and around nine islands, with six miles of lake shoreline on the North Shore of Chicago. The garden hosts a robust native plant program and is a documented breeding site for ruby-throated hummingbirds in the woodland areas adjacent to the garden. Garden wildlife staff note that ruby-throated hummingbirds "travel through the Chicago area in great numbers during September and October" as migrants arrive from Canada, making September an exceptional month to visit.

Hummingbirds to Watch For

• Ruby-throated

Most Common Hummingbird

The most commonly sighted hummingbird at Chicago Botanic Garden is the Ruby-throated.

Best Time to Visit

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

Plants and Habitat

• Cardinal flower (*Lobelia cardinalis*) — wet garden areas, blooms precisely during August migration
• Jewelweed (*Impatiens capensis*) — native wetland areas
• Scarlet bee balm (*Monarda didyma*) — Waterfall Garden and native plant beds
• Wild bergamot (*Monarda fistulosa*) — native prairie and pollinator gardens
• Trumpet creeper (*Campsis radicans*) — native garden structures
• Wild columbine (*Aquilegia canadensis*) — wooded areas, spring arrival food source

NectarBloom Tip

September is the best-kept secret at Chicago Botanic Garden for hummingbirds — migrants from Canada arrive in great numbers then. The native wetland areas near the waterfall and McDonald Woods prairie edges are your best bets. Visit on a calm morning in early September; hummingbirds are noticeably more active before frontal weather systems, which trigger their southward movement.

Visitor Notes

Garden admission is free; parking fee applies. Open daily year-round, 6 a.m. to sunset. Photography permitted for personal use. ADA accessible throughout most of the grounds. Free tram available.

Map

Ruby-throated near Cardinal flower (*Lobelia cardinalis*) — wet garden areas, blooms precisely during August migration at Chicago Botanic Garden in Illinois

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Reviews and Sightings

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Sources

Nearby gardens in Illinois

Hummingbirds at Lurie Garden in Chicago, Illinois

Map

Cook County

Lurie Garden

Chicago

Designed by Dutch landscape architect Piet Oudolf and opened in 2004, Lurie Garden is a 2.5-acre naturalistic perennial garden in the heart of Millennium Park, celebrated as one of the world's finest urban gardens. The garden contains approximately 350 types of plants — 193 perennial herbaceous species — with a strong emphasis on Midwest prairie and woodland natives. Eastern bee balm is documented as "a magnet for hummingbirds and butterflies" by the garden's own staff, making this an unexpectedly productive hummingbird stop in the urban core during fall migration.

Public GardenRuby-throated

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