Hummingbird food is easy to make!
Each year, about the beginning of May here in Ohio, we put out homemade hummingbird food that attracts Ruby-Throated Hummingbirds to our yard.
Ingredients for Hummingbird Food:
1 part sugar
4 parts water
Examples:
1 cup sugar/4cups water
3/4 cup sugar/3 cups water
1/2 cup sugar/2 cups water
1/4 cup sugar/1 cup water
Instructions for Hummingbird Food:
Pour sugar and water in an appropriate sized saucepan. Bring solution to a boil to slow spoilage and kill bacteria. Stir until sugar is dissolved. Allow to cool completely before use. Fill your feeders with just enough ‘nectar’ to last 2-3 days.
Add some red food dye to this solution and it’s just like the food you buy in the store and they love it!!
Awesome Tammy! Thanks for the tip! The red color will help attract even more Hummingbirds to your feeder.
Here is another helpful hint;
Hummingbirds are very territorial. Make sure you have plenty of
feeders for all of your quick little visitors, as they will fight over the feeders, making for a very fight filled area.
Hurricane Isaac left our area a few days ago. The hummingbirds are thick as flies and it has been quite a show. Filling two feeders daily!
P-l-e-a-s-e don’t put red food dye in your hummingbird food. I have read from several sites where it is either not needed or is considered harmful for the hummingbirds we love (and who wants to take a chance on harming them when you are feeding them!). Feel free to do your own web search on the subject…or I included a couple to get started. Thanks for feeding the beautiful hummingbirds, just please leave Out all the colors!!!
Also, please note that you need to clean out the feeder between each use (which can be once every day if hot, to once a week if quite cool – if the solution cloudy, wait no longer and clean it out immediately). Usually I see recommendations to use submerse in 4 parts water to 1 part vinegar in a cleaning solution to help sterilize the container and to help prevent mold without the potential threat from unhealthy soap and chemical residues like bleach which can be harmful if any trace is left on the feeder). The bad effects of chlorine led some to say that if you use chlorinated tap water, let it sit for a couple days (I suppose before boiling it with sugar so it doesn’t start to spoil after you add sugar?) and that will let the chlorine evaporate from the tap water into the air.
Happy Bird Watching to All
Thank you for your comments on “Homemade Hummingbird Food.” I love watching and feeding hummingbirds and want to keep them as healthy as possible. I agree with all that you have said, very helpful. Thanks, Nelle (Mama).
Ooops….here are those links I mentioned above:
http://www.hummingbirds.net/dye.html
http://birding.about.com/od/birdfeeders/a/nectarrecipe.htm
Here is another link to plants as an additions to/replacements for nectar feeders – that attract hummingbirds and butterflies – if that is lower maintanance for you:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XVvXVzgcW4M