| Hummingbirds are probably one of the most popular | | | | water. |
| birds that people try to attract to their yards. Of | | | | Add the sugar at a rate of 1 cup of sugar for four |
| course one of the simplest ways to attract them is to | | | | cups of water. Note that you can depart from this |
| add to your yard the plants that they naturally feed on. | | | | ratio somewhat, and in fact in the wintertime you may |
| This can include flowering plants like honeysuckle or | | | | want to add more sugar to boost the energy content |
| trumpet creepers. But you may not be able to locate | | | | of the mix. Stir the mixture until the sugar has |
| these where you can easily see them, so the next | | | | dissolved. |
| best solution is to mount a hummingbird feeder where | | | | Be sure to use real sugar, artificial sweeteners are |
| you can see it, and that means you will need to fill it | | | | "low calorie" which means they have no nutritional |
| with hummingbird food. | | | | value, and would do the birds no good. Don't use |
| The classic formulation is make make a solution of one | | | | honey, as it has different sugars (not the sucrose |
| part sugar to four parts water. Most experts suggest | | | | naturally found in nectar) and it tends to ferment |
| that you use cane sugar (the white granulated type is | | | | quicker as well. |
| fine.) Starting with one cup of water and 1/4 cup of | | | | Natural nectar is odorless and clear, so there is no |
| sugar should be enough to begin with, but you can | | | | need to add food coloring to the mix, and the color of |
| make more and store it if you want. Let it cool and | | | | the feeder should be enough to attract your |
| then store it in the refrigerator. Try not to store it for | | | | hummingbirds. |
| more than a couple of weeks. | | | | That's all there is to making your own humming bird |
| The water should be boiled first, this not only makes it | | | | food. |
| easier to dissolve the sugar in the water, but helps | | | | But after you've made the hummingbird food for your |
| eliminate the chlorine and any other baddies in the | | | | feeder, it is critical that you clean your feeder often. |