How to make hummingbird nectar or food
Hummingbirds are small – so small that the egg of a ruby-throated hummingbird is about the size of a pea and the nest is the size of a walnut. It’s easy to attract these colorful birds to your yard by providing a hummingbird feeder filled with nectar. While you can purchase nectar, it’s simply a syrup of sugar and water you can cook up at home.
- Difficulty:
- Easy
Instructions
Things You'll Need
- Measuring cup
- Sugar
- Saucepan
- Spoon
- Air-tight container
- Hummingbird feeder
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1
Measure 1 cup of granulated white sugar and add to a saucepan.
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2
Add 4 cups of water.
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3
Put saucepan on stove and bring the solution to a boil. Boiling kills any mold or bacteria.
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4
Stir the sugar water solution with a wooden spoon until all the sugar is dissolved.
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5
Let the nectar cool to room temperature before you fill your hummingbird feeder.
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6
Store any unused nectar in an air-tight container. Place the container in the refrigerator.
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1
Tips & Warnings
Try to find a measuring cup that will measure at least 1 cup
Slowly mix your sugar water solution as you boil it to keep it mixing evenly
To help attract hummingbirds to the feeder, use red dye in the sugar water solution, but only use 1-2 drops.
To help attract hummingbirds to your garden and your feeder, plant flowers that hummingbirds like.
The Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center says not to add food coloring to the nectar. A colorful hummingbird feeder will attract the birds.
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References
Resources
- Photo Credit Dynamic Graphics Group/Dynamic Graphics Group/Getty Images
Comments
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instead of red dye , get a red feeder , or make it red , with paint.
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do not add dye to the mixture, it`s harmful to the birds and that is a fact!
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It's fine to add red coloring....30 years ago, no - today, yes.
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It is best not to add red coloring to your homemade hummingbird nector. Hang your feeder near your flower gardens, and the hu, mmingbirds will find your nectar feeders.
