Best Hummingbird Food Tips

Why Hummingbirds are so Loved

Hummingbirdsare special for a variety of reasons. They win the smallest bird award and alsoclaim the title of the smallest animal with a backbone. Aside from their size,they’re also highly skilled. Unlike all other birds, they can fly in alldirections: forward, backward, up, down, sideways and hover. And then there’sthe hummingbird migration, a fantastic journey, including a non-stop, 500-mileflight over the Gulf of Mexico. Not only are they skilled aviators, they arealso quite brainy. They have the largest brains of all birds, when based ontheir body to brain ratio.

Withall these skills and defining features, they also are enchantingly beautiful.The many who love hummingbirds work hard to attract these dainty, magicalcreatures to their backyards. And one of the best ways to do so is by offeringa great hummingbird feeder with tasty nectar.

Keepingas active as a hummingbird requires a considerable amount of food. To bespecific, hummingbirds must consume more food than their total body weight, andthey eat this much on a daily basis.

Hummingbirdsdrink nectar from a variety of flowers. You can attract hummingbirds to youryard by planting their favorites: perennials,such as cosmos, dahlias, floxgloves, fuschias, and hollyhocks; annuals, such asnasturtiums, petunias, and zinnias; and shrubs, vines and trees, such ashibiscus, honeysuckle and eucalyptus.

Whileflower nectar completes their diet, protein is required, which they get fromeating a variety of insects, including ants, gnats, and flies.

Homemade Hummingbird Food Recipe

Hummingbird food, while it cannot fulfill their need for protein, cansupplement or replace the nectar in their diet.

Hummingbirdfood is readily available at stores, but many prefer to make it at home. It’seasy, inexpensive, and more convenient than making a run to the store.

To make hummingbird food, boil 4 cups of water and stir in 1 cupof pure granulated sugar. Stir until the sugar is dissolved. Once it’s cool,you can pour it into a pitcher and refrigerate until needed.

Hummingbird Food Tips

Hummingbirds are delicate creatures. Toprotect these feathered friends, you need to ensure the nectar you’re offeringis safe.

When preparing your hummingbird food,always use pure granulated sugar. Do not use any sugar substitutes, such asSplenda, Equal, Sweet’N’Low, because their chemical makeup is different thansugar and can harm or kill hummingbirds. Also, don’t replace the pure granulated sugar for any type of sugary substance, such as brown sugar,powdered sugar, maple syrup, karo syrup, or honey. These can all be dangerousfor hummingbirds. For instance, powdered sugar contains corn starch, which cancause the hummingbird food to ferment. And honey containsorganisms not suitable for hummingbirds.

When preparing hummingbird food, take precautions for your safety as well. It’s recommended to not boil the water ina microwave as it can rapidly boil over when touched, called superheating,causing severe burns. Also, do not put the hummingbird food in the feeder whenit is still hot, which could cause the feeder to break. Not to mention,hummingbird food that is not completely cooled can cause burns to thehummingbirds.

When providing hummingbird food, keep inmind bacteria and mold can spoil the nectar, making hummingbirds sick. Todiscourage bacterial and mold growth, place your hummingbird feeder in a shadyarea. You should also cleanyour hummingbird feeders every 2-3 days, and even more often when it’s hotoutside. Nectar will ferment in hot weather, forming harmful bacteria. Keepingyour hummingbird feeder in the shade will not prevent this bacterial growth ifthe feeder has not been cleaned frequently enough.

Thereare hummingbird feeders designed to make cleaning and refilling easy. Top fill feeders function like asports bottle cap: to fill it, you push to sealit, pour in the nectar, and pull to open it. Also, with the wide top hole,pouring the nectar is easy. Other feeders require a funnel and often result ina mess after a filling. In addition, traditional hummingbird feeder typesrequire you to flip them upside down to fill then return upright to hang,creating a mess. With the top fill hummingbird feeders, this mess is avoidedsince they can be filled from the top.

With the proper hummingbird feeder care andhummingbird food preparation, you can attract these birds to your yard whilesafely supplementing their diet.