If your tap water contains heavy chemicals, consider using bottled or purified water for purer nectar.How to Make Hummingbird Nectar the Right Way: The Right Sugar and the Right Ratio Do not use honey, brown sugar, molasses or artificial sugar substitutes for any hummingbird nectar recipe.You can also boil the water before adding the sugar to help purify it. Honey and molasses (brown sugar contains molasses products) are too heavy for hummingbirds to digest efficiently and can ferment more quickly, creating a mold that is fatal to hummingbirds. While boiling will help slow the fermentation of the nectar initially, the nectar in hummingbird feeders is contaminated as soon as it is sipped by a bird.Sugar substitutes do not have the caloric energy that hummingbirds need for energy. Therefore, it is not necessary to boil the nectar once the sugar has been dissolved. The ratio of sugar and water can be slightly adjusted, but a solution that is too sweet will be difficult for the birds to digest and one that does not contain enough sugar will not be suitable to attract hummingbirds.If you use extra fine sugar no boiling may be needed. Hummingbird nectar must be completely cool before filling feeders.The 4:1 water to sugar ratio most closely approximates the sucrose levels in natural nectar. Commercial hummingbird nectar products may advertise different flavors, vitamins and other additives that are supposed to attract additional birds.Hot nectar can warp or crack both glass and plastic hummingbird feeders and warm nectar will ferment more quickly. These additives are not necessary for hummingbirds’ health and a simple sugar solution will attract just as many birds as more expensive commercial products. Unused hummingbird nectar can be stored in the refrigerator for up to one week. Clean hummingbird feeders at least once a week and refill them with fresh nectar.When making your own nectar, adjust the recipe quantity to only make enough for one week to eliminate waste. In warm weather or when multiple birds are using the feeder, clean them more frequently.įollowing this classic hummingbird nectar recipe is a great way to create hummingbird food that is far less expensive than commercial nectars or nectar mixes. With a few simple steps, you can fill your hummingbird feeders with attractively delicious sugar water all season long. The use of red dye in hummingbird nectar recipes is not necessary. I know what you’re thinking right now, “this is a cooking blog, why am I reading up on hummingbird nectar”? Am I right?! Well, sorry, I decided to take a night off from food recipes and share this nectar “recipe” because who doesn’t love hummingbirds, hehe! If you want to use red to attract more hummingbirds to your feeders, consider planting red flowers nearby, hanging red ribbons from the feeder or adding a red gazing ball near the feeder to help catch the birds’ attention.This hummingbird nectar is simple to prepare, much healthier for the birds, and budget friendly! While hummingbirds are attracted to bright colors, especially red, some red dyes can harm the birds. Many hummingbird feeders have red bases, feeding ports or other accents that will attract the birds without risking the use of unessential dyes. When my family lived up in Seattle, the hummingbirds were GORGEOUS. The different colors on the birds were bright and eye catching. My mom had a feeder at her house and always seemed to have birds swarming to it. I even went out to the store, bought a feeder and the red dyed nectar trying to attract some to my house. The only ones I was able to see were the ones at my parents house. Simple and quick nectar is much healthier than the red dyed store bought version!įast forward a few years, living here in Houston, I read comments from neighbors and friends about hummingbirds in the area. Within minutes I had a few drinking from it! Woo hoo!! Now, I will admit, the birds here in Texas aren’t as pretty as the ones in Washington, but hey, hummingbirds are neat in general, right?! Of course, being hopeful, I went out to the store yet again, bought another feeder, however, this time made my own nectar (sugar water). One afternoon, my hubby and I were watching some tv in our family room and heard a huge “thunk” noise. We quickly ran to the window and outside, a hummingbird had flown into our window. Thinking it was dead, we went out with a bag to pick it up before the dog found it. Shockingly, it was still alive, merely stunned. My hubby was able to pick it up and gently pet it for a few minutes before it flew away. It was crazy!! We called that our “once in a lifetime experience” because how many people get the chance to hold a hummingbird and pet it, right?!Ībout one week later, while the kids were at school and hubby was at work, I heard yet another “thunk”.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |