Here’s an easy Hummingbird Food Recipe

Warmer weather has finally arrived (yay!) and with it comes the annual migration of hummingbirds zipping about.

The hummers start arriving as early as late April and into early May. They head south again around September.

A couple of years ago, I decided to attract hummingbirds to the yard – they’re so fun to watch!

I found a couple of feeders to hang in my tree but wanted to make sure that I didn’t put anything harmful in them for the tiny flyers, so I got online and checked out a few sites for hummingbird food recipes.

I scored big when I came across this super simple recipe. Best of all it’s easy and basic – the way it should be – NO DYES or other unnecessary ingredients.

According to the Smithsonian’s National Zoo & Conservation Biology Institute, the recipe goes like this:

The Recipe

Ingredients

• Refined White Sugar (yes – white sugar)
• Water
• See exact measurements below

Directions

1. Stir 1 cup of sugar together with 4 cups of water until the sugar is dissolved. The sugar will melt in room-temperature water fairly fast so there’s no need to heat it first. Stirring thoroughly will help the sugar to dissolve quicker. Walk away for a few minutes, come back and stir some more until it’s ready to pour.
2. Do NOT add red dye. It’s not good for the birds and it isn’t necessary. If anything about your feeder is red, that’s good enough. 
3. Fill your hummingbird feeders with the sugar-water and refrigerate any extra sugar water in a glass bottle between refills. It will last about 2 weeks.
4. Placement: Hang the feeder(s) outside in a cool or shady spot but still visible. Warning: If the feeder is in the direct sun all day, there’s a greater chance of attracting wasps, and the birds will eventually quit visiting. I found out the hard way last summer when one of my feeders was covered with wasps.  ALSO, after several days in the sun the sugar-water will become alcoholic  – another turn-off for the birds.
5. Refill feeders every few days or as needed.
6. Be sure to thoroughly clean the feeders often. Hummingbirds are susceptible to infections so clean your feeders regularly and help keep these little guys healthy.

What are the Best Hummingbird Feeders?

Surprisingly, some of the best feeders to attract hummingbirds turns out to be the same inexpensive feeders that are sold everywhere – as long as a couple of specific  features are included. Check out our companion article “Best Hummingbird Feeders” to find out what those features are.

What Features Make the Best Hummingbird Feeders?

Interestingly, the feeders that hummingbirds are most attracted to happen to be the same inexpensive feeders that are sold everywhere.

They’re popular with the birds for a couple of very specific reasons: 1.) there are so many of these feeders sold that the birds recognize them, and 2.) they have a particular set of features that the birds can’t resist.

The Most Important Feature is Color.

A great feeder needs to have a good deal of bright red and yellow in it’s design.

The above inexpensive feeder is one of the most popular with hummingbirds. It can be found in almost any store with a gardening department as well as online.

This specific feeder is such a hit with hummers is due to a couple of things I mentioned above – not only is it bright red with yellow, but it’s also in tens of thousands of yards around the world – the birds actually remember it as a source of food. And yes, they will return to the same yards year after year.

Your odds of attracting them are much higher when they that see their favorite restaurant is in your yard. I have one and it’s always busy. Here’s a link for them on Amazon if you’re interested – Click here.

Note: DO NOT use red dye in any of their food.

Red dye isn’t healthy for the birds, whether it’s purchased at the store or made at home, and it isn’t necessary.

See our companion article “A Simple Hummingbird Food Recipe” for a super easy food recipe that you can make in minutes using just two ingredients.

These little guys deserve the good stuff – not fake red stuff.  Red in the feeder design is enough to attract the hummingbirds. Anyway….

Other Key Features of a Great Feeder:

• It should have a thick glass bottle for the food.A glass bottle won’t disperse BPA’s into their food source like some plastics will, especially when it gets hot in the summer sun. If the packaging states that the plastic in the product is “BPA Free”  then it’s ok to use.  BPA stands for Bisphenol A, which is an industrial chemical that has been used to make certain plastics and resins since the 1950s. For more information on BPA’s, click here for the Mayo Clinic’s article about this substance.
• A great feeder will include little “resting bars” at each flower.Hummingbirds need breaks from all that zipping around and a nice place to do that is when they’re at a feeder.   I prefer the plastic “resting bars” over metal because they don’t get as hot in the mid-day sun as metal ones do.
• It also needs to easily be taken apart and cleaned regularly. Cleaning is super important to keep harmful mold and bacteria from building up which can make them sick.

A Few Words about Cleaning The Feeders

As mentioned above, you need to thoroughly clean the feeder to prevent mold and bacterial growth. You’ll see the mold because it’s black – ewww.

Take it completely apart and clean it at least once every 2 weeks.

1. Use a mild dish soap and water to clean the bottle and all the parts. Many feeders will come with small brushes but if they don’t, here’s a tip: I clean and recycle my old mascara brushes because they fit perfectly into the small feeder holes.
2. Next, use a large bottle-brush and dish soap to clean the glass bottle that holds the food.
3. Rinse thoroughly to remove any remaining soap residue, reassemble, fill, and hang on garden hook, or on a tree.

Bottom Line

There are so many cool feeders out there that it can be hard to choose.

The most important things to keep in mind are:

• The color – prominent red and yellow
• The material it’s made of – using glass for the food holder, or BPA-free plastic,
• And little resting bars for them to sit on while feeding.

For a Simple Hummingbird Food Recipe

Check out our companion article “A Simple Hummingbird Food Recipe” that you can make at home in minutes.