Pledge to stand with Audubon to call on elected officials to listen to science and work towards climate solutions.
Hummingbirds may be some of the smallest birds in the world, but fluttering those tiny wings can be quite a workout. Flapping away at up to 90 beats per second burns up calories fast; to maintain their momentum, hummingbirds need to eat—a lot! To satisfy their speedy metabolisms, these busy birds consume half their body weight in bugs and nectar, feeding every 10-15 minutes and visiting 1,000-2,000 flowers per day.
You can help these hardworking foragers get the nutrients they need by providing them with their favorite post-workout meal—nectar. This hummingbird sweet treat can be made right at home with a few simple ingredients. By filling your feeder with this DIY delight, you can complement nectar-rich plants and watch these beautiful little birds feed and flitter all day.
The Best Homemade Hummingbird Food
Attract beautiful hummingbirds to your backyard or garden with this simple homemade hummingbird food recipe!
Prep: 5min
Total: 5min
Yield: 4
Ingredients:
- 4 cups very hot tap water
- 1 cup white granulated sugar
Instruction:
- Boil your water on the stove for 1 minute.
- Remove the water from the stove and stir in the sugar. Stir until the sugar dissolves.
- Allow the mixture to come to room temperature.
- Fill your humming bird feeder as directed on individual instructions.
- Store leftover sugar water in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.
Homemade Hummingbird Nectar Recipe
This homemade hummingbird nectar recipe will have your sweet little friends squeaking their thanks all day long!
Prep: 5min
Total: 10min
Ingredients:
- 1 cup pure white cane sugar
- 3-4 cups water (*see notes)
Instruction:
- Store extra hummingbird nectar in a glass jar, or another air tight container, in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.
Hummingbird Food Nectar
Homemade hummingbird food is as simple as making a sugar-water solution. Hang a batch of this DIY hummingbird nectar recipe in your garden and watch these beautiful birds flutter and hum around.
Prep: 1min
Total: 5min
Serving Size: 1
Nutrition Facts: calories 194 calories, Carbohydrate 50 grams carbohydrates, Cholesterol 0 milligrams cholesterol, Fat 0 grams fat, Fiber 0 grams fiber, Protein 0 grams protein, Saturated Fat 0 grams saturated fat, servingSize 1, Sodium 10 milligrams sodium, Sugar 50 grams sugar, Trans Fat 0 grams trans fat, unSaturated Fat 0 grams unsaturated fat
Ingredients:
- 1 cup water
- 1/4 cup refined white sugar
Instruction:
- In a small saucepan or kettle, bring the water to just a boil. Don’t boil too long or the water will evaporate.
- Stir in the sugar until dissolved.
- Let the sugar water cool completely, then fill your hummingbird feeder.
- Hang the feeder filled with homemade hummingbird food in a safe location outside away from windows and anywhere cats could reach.
- Sit back and watch these beautiful birds enjoy a treat.
Hummingbird Food
This is such an easy recipe. I don’t add any food color to this as I’ve heard it’s not good for the little birds. Do not use honey or other types of sugar, the birds cannot digest them. Also if you have trouble with ants you can now get a little item that has ant repellent in it that doesn’t harm the birds. I have one on my hummer feeder.
Prep: 10min
Total: 10min
Yield: 1 serving(s)
Nutrition Facts: calories 774, Fat 0, Saturated Fat 0, Cholesterol 0, Sodium 30.4, Carbohydrate 200, Fiber 0, Sugar 199.6, Protein 0
Ingredients:
- 4 cups filtered water
- 1 cup regular white sugar (Organic if possible)
Instruction:
- Bring the water to a boil.
- Take the water off the heat and add the sugar.
- Stir to dissolve completely.
- Let the nectar cool.
- Place in a clean hummingbird feeder and hang outside for the birds.
- Note:.
- Change the food at least every three to five days with a new batch to keep it fresh. Remember don’t use food coloring.
- Check the bird feeder regularly and every time you change the food to see if any gray mold has formed inside the feeder base, or, any ants have crawled inside to get at the sugar water.
- If you see any take the feeder down and throw the bird food away. It’s not good for the birds to drink this. Chances are they won’t drink it anyway.
- Clean the hummingbird feeder by rinsing with warm water. Then, put a few drops of bleach into the water inside the feeder and clean with a bottle brush.
- Once clean, rinse thoroughly with fresh water and let dry.
- Fill up with new food and place outside.
- The birds will love you for it!