Natural Hummingbird Food

I for one love seeing all the hummingbirds around, so it is wonderful to feed them. They are great pollinators for the garden, so having them around is a blessing. By feeding them, I encourage them to stick around, and allow for many more birds to be fluttering around since they are quite possessive of their food sources.

That being said, a lot of the hummingbird food you buy in stores can be harmful to the little birds. Not to mention it can get expensive! I love to use a recipe I get from the National Audubon Society years ago.

The ingredients:

4 cups filtered water and 1 cup pure sugar.

Instead of buying filtered water, I use our Brita filter. The chlorine and additives in your water can be harmful to the hummingbirds.

All you have to do is bring the water to boil,

once this is done you add your sugar. Simply pour the sugar in slowly while stirring, this prevents any sticking and burning. Continue to stir and boil until all the sugar is dissolved, usually about 2-3 minutes.

Now, simply allow to cool. This is the longest process and usually takes an hour or so. You want to let it naturally cool to room temp so no crystals will form.

You do not have to add any food coloring, as your feeders will attract the hummingbirds.