In this post I share how to make your own hummingbird food recipe. It is really easy… you can thank me later when all the birds start flocking into your garden.
Hummingbird Food Recipe
This is a super easy recipe a fellow gardener and birdwatcher shared with me years ago. It is super easy to make up your own hummingbird ‘nectar’ food. Be sure to print up a copy so you can share it with your friends. Scroll down for the printable recipe if you are interested in adding this to your bird documentation.
Ingredients:
- Water
- sugar
- red food coloring
Directions:
- Bring drinking water to a boil. Remove from stove top.
- Stir in sugar.
- Add a few drops of food coloring but is not necessary.
Humming Bird Food Feeder Printable Recipe
As always, please be sure to reach out to me if you are having issues downloading this documentation.
What do you think about the red food coloring addition? I’d love to hear from you. It is important to not use honey in this mixture. Honey can actually be fatal to the bird. Be sure to not add too much sugar to the mix because they can also affect the bird’s health.
Make Your Own Hummingbird Food Video
In this video I share what’s going on in my garden including how I mix up my own food for the birds. I shared in an early post about when the Baltimore Orieol arrived in my garden. You will find a neat little feeder idea in the video below as well.
You will find this video on my Bren Haas YouTube Channel. Please be sure to subscribe if you are on YouTube. I appreciate the support.
Red Food Coloring
I have read on a few of the University extension sites about the red food coloring not making a difference. The bird is actually is attracted to the birdfeeder itself. The hummingbird feeder is primarily red with yellow fake flowers on the bottom where the bird drinks from. Be sure to get a feeder that has a frame decorate in the red color. A few of the sites I found that mention this are listed below:
- Penn State University
- OSU
- Iowa State
Hummingbird Food Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 cups of water
- 1 cup of sugar
- dash of RED food coloring (optional)
Instructions
- Bring 4 cups of water to a boil.
- Stir in 1 cup of sugar
- add food coloring if desired before filling hummingbird feeders
Let’s Connect
I hope you found this useful and also save a lot of money mixing up your own hummingbird nectar food. Be sure to comment on my post and tell me what you think about this recipe. Take lots of photos of the pretty little birds that visit your garden this spring and summer to share with me.
Happy Birdwatching,
