Hummingbird's Nectar Recipe

by Diane Porter

Hummingbird syrup recipe

• Boil four cups of water.
• Remove water from the heat.
• Stir in one cup of white sugar.
• Cool the syrup before filling feeder.

Do not use honey, which can cause a fatal fungal infection on the birds' tongues. 

Do not add food coloring to the solution. It's not necessary, and it may be harmful. Even a small spot of red on the feeder will attract hummingbirds.

You can store the extra syrup in the refrigerator for a week.

Health and happiness

Hang the feeder where you can see it from a window. 

Clean the feeder at least once a week. In very warm weather, I change the syrup and wash out the dishwasher-safe feeder every day. 

Don't let the syrup turn cloudy in the feeder — that's mold. It will make hummingbirds avoid your feeder, and it may make them sick. 

If ants discover the feeder, discourage them by applying petroleum jelly to the wire that suspends the feeder. Or get a Nectar Protector.