How to Make Hummingbird Nectar

You can make your own hummingbird nectar at home that will fill your yard with small, colorful birds. No hummingbird will be able to resist this nectar, so get ready for an active yard.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• 1 cup of water
• 2 cups of sugar
• Food Coloring
• Small Cooking Pot
• Spoon
• Stove
• Measuring Cups

1. Gather all supplies needed for this project. The mixture will be a 1 to 2 ratio of water to sugar, so for 2 cups of nectar, you'll need 1 cup of water and 2 cups of sugar. Add both to your pot and stir.

2. Bring the water and sugar to a boil over medium high heat, stirring occasionally to keep the sugar from burning. As soon as the mixture begins to boil, turn the burner off. Remove the pot from the stove and let cool.

3. Decide what color you want your nectar to be. Most people think hummingbirds are attracted to only red nectar but this is not true. Any bright color will attract them. Orange, purple and yellow attract as many hummingbirds as simple red nectar. Before adding the food coloring, you may want to consult a color wheel to determine what colors will mix to make the color you want. Add the food coloring to the cooled mixture and pour into your hummingbird feeder.

4. Place the hummingbird feeder in a location that can be easily seen. You may want to place several feeders to attract more hummingbirds. Now sit back and watch them fight over your nectar!

Tips & Warnings

• To determine how much nectar you need, fill the feeder up with plain water and then pour into a measuring cup.
• Make sure you bring your mixture to a boil. The hummingbirds will not drink the nectar if there are impurities in the water such as chlorine and fluoride that is added to drinking water.
• A shepherd's hook makes a nice feeder holder.
• You will also attract some bees with this nectar and any other nectar you use because they are sweet. There is no getting around the bees being attracted to it. If you are allergic to bee stings, make sure you clear all the bees off of the feeder before removing it from where you placed it. You may want to let someone who is not allergic remove the feeder for you.
• Handle hot liquids and removing feeders at your own risk.

[jschiavoni]

on 7/8/2009 The above mixture is way too strong for hummers to digest. Widely used recipe is 4 parts water to 1 part sugar - however - In hotter climates or during extreme heat hummers will dehydrate faster so it is recommended using 5 parts water to 1 part sugar - this is sufficient as hummers will still feed at flowers for natural nectar

[oxbomer69]

on 6/22/2009 Please everyone do not listen to this idiot. The ration is one part sugar to 4 parts water. This person must either be black or just retarded to give this type of advice.