Change the water every two or three days when the temperatures are high to prevent fermentation and mold.Use filtered water instead of chlorinated, fluoridated tap water.No need to boil the water first, the hummingbirds introduce bacteria from their bills anyway.Use organic sugar or cane sugar instead of GMO beet sugar.Omit the red food coloring - use a red bottle instead.But what can we do? Here are some tips for healthier hummingbird nectar No one wants to harm the hummers when we put out our hummingbird feeders. The plastic feeders give off BPA, a hormone-disrupting chemical when they are exposed to direct sunlight. The sugar we have today is genetically modified and contain pesticide and herbicide residues. In the old days, housewives would boil water, mix in white sugar, and red food colouring, and fill up a plastic hummingbird feeder with the syrup. Not your momma’s hummingbird nectar recipe When you supply hummingbird nectar and flowers that meet their habitat needs, you’ll have them coming back to your garden every spring. And their antics delight young and old, alike. Hummingbirds are an easy bird for children to identify. Inviting hummingbirds to your garden by providing nectar, ample red flowers, and hummingbird habitat is one of the easiest ways to connect with nature. When we fill the feeders with our healthy hummingbird nectar recipe, they come back to say, “Thank you”. They let us know when the feeders are empty by coming to the dining room window or visiting us on the deck. It’s delightful watching them buzz back and forth with their territorial antics. They raise their babies in the spruce and pine trees around our log house. Some summers we’ve also seen ruby-throated hummers. We have 4 species of hummingbirds that visit Joybilee Farm each spring - rufous hummingbirds, calliope hummingbirds, and black-chinned come regularly. Read more about feeding birds and other wildlife (PDF).This healthy hummingbird nectar recipe and glass feeders will keep those pretty hummingbirds coming back to your garden year after year. Adding more sugar may help prevent freezing, but it’s not healthy for these sensitive little birds. Photo credit: Mary-Jean PayeurĮven in winter, do not change the ratio of sugar to water. White sugar is closest to the sugars they find in nature, other types of sugars or recipes could make them sick and die. While there are many different recipes available online, this is the only one we can recommend, and use at our own Wild Animal Rehabilitation Centre.
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