19 April 2011

Homemade Hummingbird Nectar

Since it's safe to say (or at least I hope it is) that winter is on her way out and therefore the hummingbird nectar won't freeze outside, I'm brewing up some nectar to feed the birds.  When we moved in a year ago, we noticed an Anna's Hummingbird frequently visiting our yard, so we wanted to make her (or him) feel more welcome.  I looked all over for a simple attachment to turn a mason jar into a hummingbird feeder but I couldn't find anything anywhere!  I didn't even have much luck finding a decent/satisfying way to fashion one myself.  So, I sucked it up and purchased a fairly standard feeder from the Backyard Bird Shop

Today, as I was making some more nectar (recipe to follow) to fill up my feeder, I thought I'd look again to see if my dream has appeared on the internet.  And guess what! It has!  BlueGrass Quality Products makes exactly what I was looking for.  It's a simple design that screws on to a mason jar, either pint or quart size.  One if these is definitely going on my "want" list.

Duncraft also sells a variety of Hummingbird Feeders.

Homemade Hummingbird Nectar

1 cup water
1/4 cup sugar

(basically 4 parts water to 1 part sugar)

Bring the water to a boil then add the sugar and dissolve.
Let cool completely.
Fill your feeder and put any excess in the fridge.

I like to make mine in small batches, that way it doesn't spoil (it will keep in the fridge up to a week).  

Update: Last night while reading more about hummingbirds, I discovered that it is possible to freeze the homemade nectar for later use.  I love freezing things.  More on this later tonight!




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