hummingbirds
We put up a hummingbird feeder this weekend. Within 10 minutes, we had visitors. Suz found a handy recipe online. I think we have both the Rufous and Broad-tailed hummingbirds. The aggressive nature of the female Rufous has been quite intense, guarding the feeder and dive-bombing anything that comes close.
1. Mix 4 parts water to 1 part table sugar in a pan. Do not use honey, Jell-O or brown sugar. Especially do not use artificial sweeteners. Putting hummingbirds on a diet will kill them. They burn prodigious amounts of energy for their size and need real sugar. Do not use red food coloring. It is unnecessary and can harm the little hummers even in low concentrations because they eat so much nectar. If your feeder isn't red, tie a red ribbon on it as described in the Feeders section, above. Just sugar and water, that's all.
2. Bring to a boil then remove from the heat. Stir it while it is heating until all of the sugar is dissolved. Don't boil it for long because that will change the ratio as water is boiled off. The reason for boiling is not to make syrup, but to drive out the chlorine in the water and to kill mold and yeast spores that might be in the sugar. This will help make the nectar last longer both in the feeder and in your refrigerator.
3. Cover and allow to cool before using or pouring into the storage bottle. We recommend making a large batch of nectar and storing it in the refrigerator in a 2 liter soda bottle (washed thoroughly first.) This makes refilling the feeder so easy that you won't mind doing it every few days.
Labels: Colorado, Erie, hummingbird