Hummingbird Nectar Recipe

In the natural world, hummingbirds feed on a combination of flower nectar and insects. Flower nectar is a plain chemical solution of sugar and water, known simply as Sugar Water. Many suppliers of birdfeeders sell commercially made hummingbird nectar however hummingbirds seem to prefer homemade sugar water best. Table sugar, or sucrose, is the most digestible form of food giving them the quick burst of energy they rely on.

Droll Yankees recommends using Domino® Pure Cane Sugar for making your own nectar which ensures there are no preservatives or additives. Making your own hummingbird nectar is easy, cost effective and often superior to using packaged mixes. So feed your area hummingbirds a homemade nectar made with the goodness of Domino® Pure Cane Sugar.

Domino® Sugar Hummingbird Nectar Recipe
1 cup tap water
¼ cup Domino® Pure Cane Sugar

To make your own mixture, bring tap water to a boil and stir in Domino® Pure Cane Sugar. Allow mixture to cool to room temperature before adding it to your feeder.

To yield larger portions, mix at the ratio of 1 part sugar to 4 parts water. The solution will keep in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.

Please don’t use food coloring, honey, brown sugar, unrefined sugar or sugar substitutes, as they can be harmful to hummingbirds. Under no circumstances should insecticides or other poisons be used at hummingbird feeders.

More Hummingbird Facts

• Besides nectar, hummingbirds consume protein in the form of insects which they find inside flowers, on plants and in trees, in spider webs and in midair as they travel through your yard. Consider that when using pesticides in your yard and gardens. Hummingbirds also drink plain water.
• Hummingbirds feed 5-8 times an hour.
• Hummingbirds have the greatest energy output, gram for gram, of any known warm-blooded animal. If your sugar water freezes, replace it immediately (even at dawn). They rely on established food supplies.
• A hummingbird’s wings can beat 200 times per second during courtship!
• A hummingbird’s tongue is roughly twice the length of its beak. It licks the nectar. (Approximately 13 licks per second!) You might see its beak and think that it can’t reach the nectar in the bottom of the feeder. Look closely with binoculars to see the tongue.
• The Bee Hummingbird is the smallest hummingbird in the world at 2” long, weighing 1/15 of an ounce!
• The best way of attracting Hummingbirds is to use a combination of their favorite flowers, plants, shrubs and vines; and, of course, Droll Yankees Hummingbird feeders filled with a homemade nectar of Domino® Pure Cane Sugar and water!