As we know, hummingbirds are amazing creatures. They were like dancing in the air, running around like little winged cheetahs. Attract these beautiful birds by hanging a bird feeder filled with homemade hummingbird food. Follow these steps to attract these little birds to stay for a while in your yard.
Step
Part 1 of 3: Making Nectar for Hummingbirds
Step 1. Make a sugar solution to attract hummingbirds to your yard
The sweet sugar mixture will encourage hummingbirds that come to live in the area. High-energy food is also important for hummingbirds in the spring as it can help replenish the energy they use during their migration.
Avoid purchasing nutritional nectar for hummingbirds. That will cost you money unnecessarily and won't really benefit the hummingbird either. The hummingbird gets all the nutrients it needs from natural nectar and the insects it eats. The sugar solution you provide is an instant food for him (much like coffee to us) after he flies and is exhausted
Step 2. Make a solution consisting of sugar and warm water in a ratio of 1:4
Stir the solution until the sugar is completely dissolved. Cane sugar is sucrose which is a carbohydrate. Carbohydrates are easy to digest and provide the hummingbird with the energy it needs to fly.
Step 3. Boil the sugar solution for 1-2 minutes
Boiling the sugar solution will slow down the growth of bacteria that may occur. Boiling the water will also remove any additional chlorine or fluoride present in the tap water (which can harm hummingbirds). Solutions don't always have to be boiled if you're only making small amounts of food for immediate use.
If you don't boil the sugar solution, you'll need to change it every 1 to 2 days to prevent the growth of bacteria in the solution that can harm hummingbirds
Step 4. Do not add any dye to the solution
Although hummingbirds are attracted to the color red, red dye is known to be harmful to hummingbirds. Natural hummingbird food (nectar) is odorless and colorless so you don't need to add coloring to your homemade hummingbird food.
Step 5. Store the hummingbird food until it is ready to use
Store the food in the refrigerator. If you are making a large batch, you can store any unneeded food in the refrigerator until the food in the bird feeder runs out. This will save you time in refilling the food.
Step 6. Choose the right bird feeder
Red bird feeders can be the most suitable choice because the red color attracts hummingbirds. You should hang the feeder in the shade as much as possible because the nectar will stay fresh longer in the shade. If you have a garden, hang bird feeders in your garden. You can also hang the feeder near the window (but out of reach of the cat) so you can see these beautiful birds.
Some hummingbird enthusiasts say that you can hang the bird feeder by the window only if you have bird-shaped cutouts on the window pane. This is to prevent the hummingbirds from flying towards the glass and potentially injuring themselves
Part 2 of 3: Preventing Mold and Fermentation
Step 1. Be aware that your food can harm hummingbirds if allowed to mold and ferment
When your sugar solution becomes cloudy, it will need to be replaced. Yeast feeds on sugar and causes fermentation which can harm hummingbirds. In addition, the warm sugar solution can also be a place for mold and bacteria to grow.
Step 2. Check your bird's feeding areas for black mold as often as possible
If possible, check where the bird feeds every two days. Inspecting the bird feeder will keep out any dangers that might injure the hummingbird. If you find mold, mix 236 ml of bleach in 3.7 liters of water. Soak bird feeders in this bleach solution for an hour. Before refilling the food, clean any mold that is in the feeder by brushing it and then rinsing it thoroughly.
Step 3. Clean the bird feeder before you refill the food
Flush the place to eat with hot water. Don't use soap because hummingbirds don't like the soapy taste left behind and will leave the bird's feeding area with soap residue.
Step 4. Change the food in the bird feeder regularly
The time when hummingbird food is left out depends on the temperature in the area where it was hung.
- If the temperature is 21-26°C, change the food every 5 to 6 days.
- If the temperature is 27-30°C, change the food every 2 to 4 days.
- If the temperature exceeds 32°C, change the food daily.
Part 3 of 3: Energizing Your Nectar
Step 1. Determine the energy of the food
Reduce the amount of sugar concentration in food after a few weeks. This will encourage hummingbirds to come to your bird feeder more often. A ratio of 1 sugar to 5 water, or 1 sugar to 4 water, will make the sugar solution liquid. When the solution is more fluid, the hummingbirds will come more often.
- Do not make the concentration of the solution smaller than the ratio of 1 sugar to 5 water. If the sugar in their diet is less than this, hummingbirds will spend more energy flying to and from bird feeders than they get from eating that food.
- Try to concentrate the food enough so you don't have to refill it all the time, but not so big that the birds don't come often. Making a diet high in sugar will give the hummingbird a lot of energy and allow it to go further before it eats again (so the hummingbird won't be visiting your bird feeder as often).
Step 2. Plant flowers that hummingbirds love
If you've tried different food mixes but still no hummingbirds come along, plant flowers that will attract hummingbirds.
Here are some plants that hummingbirds love: Bee Balm, Phlox, Lupine, Hollyhock, Red-Hot Poker, Columbine, Coral Bell, Foxglove, Cardinal, Lantana, Salvia, Butterfly Bush, Rose of Saron, Trumpet Vine, Trumpet Honeysuckle, Crossvine, Carolina Jessamine, Indian Pink (Spigelia)
Tips
- If the hummingbird doesn't eat all of the food before it's impossible to eat, don't fill the bird feeder completely so you don't have to throw it away all the time.
- Do not use honey, powdered sugar, brown sugar, artificial sweeteners or other types of sweeteners. Other sweetening chemicals are not the same and do not meet the nutritional needs of hummingbirds. Some of these sweeteners can cause hummingbirds to get sick or die.
