Make Your Own Hummingbird Nectar
by
DeeDee
3 Materials
$1
10 Minutes
Easy
Do you have your hummingbird feeder out yet? We live in Texas and we've had ours out for a little over a month now. I always get ours out at the first signs that the little hummers are back. What normally happens is that I'm working in the flower beds or out in the yard somewhere and I hear one zoom by, then I go and retrieve the feeders and get them ready.
NO RED FOOD COLOR! Yes, the feeder in the picture above has nectar with 2 drops of food coloring added to it. I didn't know then, but I know now! Sorry little hummingbirds!
NOTE: There have been claims that red dye impairs hatching in hummingbird eggs, and hummingbird rehabilitators report seeing an increased incidence in skin and bill tumors in hummingbirds.
You can buy the premixed nectars at the stores so that all you have to do is add water, but as you probably already know, most of them have a red or pink color to them and they tend to be spendy.
I've been making my own nectar for years because my Granny and my Mama always made their own. This year, I was looking on Pinterest to see how others made their own nectar and found out that the red coloring is not good for the birds. I always added a few drops of red food color to mine in previous years, but now I have stopped doing that. As long as your feeder has some red on it, they will be attracted to it. Good to know!
No, this is not a pet hummingbird, but one we found that was too weak to fly away. He was very welcoming to our help and didn't even try to escape us. See how puffed out his feathers look? He was feeling really bad!
My honey nursed him back to strength with some sugar water on a Qtip. He gladly excepted the gift.
See, his feathers are getting smoother now. He's feeling better. He could stand on the feeder perch and get his own drink now. Weird thing is, he never seemed scared of us at all, he just welcomed the help.
We got him a box with a towel and his very own personal feeder and he stayed there on the patio until he felt better and flew away on his own. We tried to see if we could pick him out among the others when they visited to feed, but we never could. This was the most amazing thing I had ever experienced with hummingbirds. As you know they are amazing and oh so interesting little things to watch, but never in a million years did I think we would ever get this close to one or actually hold it. Amazing experience for sure!
Where's the RECIPE??
Please visit our blog for the recipe of the DIY Hummingbird Nectar and some important steps to take when feeding the hummers.
Thanks for looking!
Want more details about this and other DIY projects? Check out my blog post!
Comments
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4 of 12 comments
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Very beautiful! I just love the hummingbirds! I live in Utah & haven't seen any yet. I will definitely use your recipe, thanks for the inspiration!
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I live about 30 miles east of Dallas, when is the best time to put out the feeders for the first time? And how long does the hummers stick around for.
Thank you for your wonderful post, thar is so awesome and it shows that all of God's creatures know when we are trying to help them.
God Bless you!
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Hi Donna, I really think it depends on our silly weather (ha, ha) but we've had hummers for about a month and a half now, so I'd say late March early April. I just continue to leave our feeders out until I don't see or hear them anymore. When it starts getting cool again is when they move along for the year, but they'll be back! It is awesome that he allowed us to help him but we both LOVE animals of all kinds and I really and truly think they know that. God Bless You too Donna!
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