Hummingbird Recipe

Our hummingbird recipe is simple and easy to make. I have a hummingbird feeder. When I fill it I use a little sugar water according to the following recipe. The red on the feeder is enough to attract the birds. I take the feeder down in the winter as it is a little cold at our house for all but the Anna's Hummingbirds and I want them to migrate if they need to. Mostly I want the hummingbirds to depend on my flowers not my feeders. And I have lots of those during all seasons in our garden.

Sugar Water Recipe

4 parts water to one part sugar, pretty simple.

Heat to dissolve the sugar. Refrigerate the remaining sugar water until you use it. Change the water every 4 days or so, more often in hot weather. You don't want drunk hummingbirds driving badly. Wash the container each time you change the water. A little extra sugar won't hurt their feelings either. I usually fill the empty feeders 90% full with water and use that as a measure for how much to make. Then match up the right amount of sugar and good to go. If you fill the containers full, the sugar takes up volume too and you have left overs. Red food coloring probably isn't good for the hummingbirds, the red on the hummingbird feeders is enough of a clue. In one of the gardens I care for there are 5 quart feeders spaced across the front of the house. The hummingbirds will empty them by mid-afternoon. Sugar in the 50 pound bag starts to make a lot of sense. There can be as many as 50 hummingbirds perched on the surrounding trees and shrubs waiting for a spot to open up at the feeders. Hummingbirds will often guard their feeder, but when there are too many feeders to guard and way too many hummingbirds to chase they all change the game and feed away