Make Your Own Hummingbird Nectar!

In March our family moved from Massachusetts to Western New York for my husband's career. My dad was really sad to see us go, even though we are only 6 hours away, he was certainly melancholy about it. The day we actually moved he gave me the MOST beautiful hummingbird feeder I have ever seen. It is actual red glass. It's got a hummingbird etched on it and it just brightens up the yard.



When I got it to my new home unscathed, I realized it had no fluid or food to put into it. I couldn't find any at the store. I asked my dad about it and he said you can make your own. Off to trusty Google, to search for a solution I went. Turns out it is REALLY easy to make.

It is simply 4 parts water to 1 part sugar. So for every 4 cups of water, I added 1 cup of white granulated sugar. I heat it on the stove top, stirring occasionally, so that it is completely dissolved, allow it to cool, and then fill your clean bird feeder. It takes 2 batches to fill the feeder, however you should really throughly clean these things each week to ensure that the birds do not get sick, as yeast and bacteria grow really quickly, especially in the heat of Summer. Because of this I will only half fill it from now on. On a side note, Artificial dyes, honey and sugar other than white table sugar should not be used in nectar feeders.

We have seen a hummingbird on 2 occasions so far, which to me is really impressive since we just put it out a few months ago.