Make Your Own What?

Make your own hummingbird nectar! That’s right. The stuff with the red dye that you buy at the store isn’t exactly healthy for the little guys. Why not make some yourself? It’s so easy to make your own and it’s literally only two ingredients!

Mama Knows Best

While Spencer Pratt has been making his own hummingbird food on Snapchat and bringing this idea to the forefront recently, I’ve got to set the record straight. My Mom has been making her own hummingbird food for years and has been lecturing us on the woes of the red dye in the store-bought stuff for just as long. The red dye, by the way, MUST be omitted if you make this yourself. That’s really the only requirement. Are you in?

Make Your Own Hummingbird Nectar

I don’t care what anybody says, hummingbirds LOVE homemade nectar. I swear, they gobble it down like it’s the hummingbird version of Cristal. No, I am not turning into a psycho bird lady (ok, maybe there is a slight possibility that I am, but really? I’m ok with it.)

And seriously. Once you start to make your own hummingbird food, you’ll be surprised by how many of these adorable, tiny little birds you start seeing in your yard, stalking your feeder. Hummingbirds feed every 10-15 minutes and they visit up to 2,000 flowers per day to get enough nutrients to flap those tiny little wings as fast as they do, all day long. So basically, they need a LOT of food.  And apparently, this stuff delivers.

They love it, and it’s so much better for them than the junk with the red dye. Try it out, you guys. I know. It’s so random, but it’s so much fun. I promise you won’t be disappointed!

Ingredients

1/4 cup refined organic white sugar*

1 cup filtered water

Directions

Combine the sugar and the water into a small saucepan and bring up to medium heat at a low simmer until the sugar has gently dissolved. Wait for the mixture to cool completely before adding it to your hummingbird feeder. Now all you have to do is to wait for those little cuties to appear and gobble down all of your homemade nectar!

*Refined sugar most closely mimics natural floral nectar. Do not use honey or raw sugar. Honey may promote fungal growth and raw sugar may contain too much iron.