Feeding Hummingbirds 🐦

It's easy to make hummingbird food with just table sugar and water.

Directions for making safe hummingbird food 🥄🌸:
🟪 Mix 1 part sugar with 4 parts water (for example, 1 cup of sugar with 4 cups of water) until the sugar is dissolved.
🟪 Do not add red dye.

🟪 Fill your hummingbird feeders with the sugar water and place outside.
🟪Extra sugar water can be stored in a refrigerator.

Use table sugar rather than honey- when honey is diluted with water bacteria thrive in it.

I have been feeding hummingbirds at my window since April 2020.

Generally, I use 1/4 cup of sugar per cup of water (1/3 cup of sugar per cup of water in the winter).

Hummingbirds are found in many parts of the United States year round.

2019 Migration Map of US hummingbirds

🌷 10 Facts About Hummingbirds ☀️

1. They are the smallest migrating bird. They don’t migrate in flocks like other species, and they typically travel alone for up to 500 miles at a time.

2. The name, hummingbird, comes from the humming noise their wings make as they beat so fast.

3. Hummingbirds are the only birds that can fly backwards.

4. Hummingbirds have no sense of smell. While they can’t sniff out feeders, they do have good color vision. Some birds like the Ruby-throated Hummingbird prefer orange or red flowers. Despite this, red dye should not be used in nectar as it could harm the birds. Instead, plant naturally red or orange flowers or use feeders that have red coloring in their structure.

5. The average weight of a hummingbird is less than a nickel.

6. Their tiny legs are only used for perching and moving sideways while perched. They can’t walk or hop.

7. Hummingbirds drink the nectar found in feeders by moving their tongue in and out about 13 times per second. They can consume up to double their body weight in a day.

8. The average number of eggs laid by female hummingbirds is only two. These eggs have been found in nests smaller than a half dollar and compare in size to a jellybean or a coffee bean.

9. A flock of hummingbirds can be referred to as a bouquet, a glittering, a hover, a shimmer, or a tune.

10. There are over 330 species of hummingbirds in North and South America.

Resources 🐦