Photo: Annette Shaff (Shutterstock) The hummingbird feeder Ive held on the patio is among my unforeseen pleasures in life. I initially hung it since hummingbirds kept having a look at a specific area– Im persuaded my houses previous owners hung a feeder there– and every summertime they show up once again and require I feed them. So I do. The garden store offers bottles of hummingbird food beside the feeders, both clear and red. (Red flowers are known to bring in hummingbirds.) However you do not require either kind. Its easier, less expensive, and better for the birds to make your own.Even the Audubon society advises a homemade syrup rather of the bottled stuff, and they likewise point out that the red coloring is not essential. There has actually been speculation that red color might be bad for hummingbirds, and in any case it hasnt been specifically tested for its long-term results on hummingbirds.People must have attempted to make hummingbird food out of all kinds of other substances, since the Audubon page recommends against making it with honey, molasses, sweetening agents. Simply sugar water. So, all right, lets make some sugar water. Heres how you do it: Add 1/4 cup of sugar to a pint sized Mason jar, or a comparable container.Add 1 cup of cold or space temperature water. Screw on the cover and shake. Thats it– no requirement to heat it or add any other active ingredients. The sugar will liquify with simply a little stirring or shaking. (If youre familiar with making easy syrup, that uses more sugar relative to the water and needs a bit more help to get it all to dissolve.) G/O Media might get a commissionOnce Ive made the syrup, I bring the hummingbird feeder inside and clean it with warm water. I put in about half the batch– which is about half a cup of liquid– and pop the rest in the fridge for later in the week. Make sure to clean and refill the feeder two times a week to keep your small pals healthy..

There has actually been speculation that red color might be bad for hummingbirds, and in any case it hasnt been specifically tested for its long-lasting results on hummingbirds.People need to have attempted to make hummingbird food out of all kinds of other substances, due to the fact that the Audubon page recommends versus making it with honey, molasses, synthetic sweeteners. Fine, lets make some sugar water. G/O Media might get a commissionOnce Ive made the syrup, I bring the hummingbird feeder inside and clean it with hot water.