If you keep hummingbird feeders in your yard, you may not realize that you do not need to buy expensive hummingbird food mixtures. You can make hummingbird food very simply in a few minutes with common kitchen ingredients.
The formula for hummingbird food is very simple: 25% sugar and 75% water. You do not really need to color it red with food dye. We have tried using both expensive hummingbird mixes found in stores, as well as the simple formula. Quite frankly, hummingbirds do not really care. They just love sugar water.
Here is how we make it.
Start with a two-cup glass measuring cup. It is important to use a glass cup, because plastic cups are not intended for use in microwave ovens.
Add 1/2 cup of standard white sugar and then fill the cup with water up to the 2 cup mark.
Stir the mixture. Place the cup in a microwave oven and stir it again to start a rotation in the water. Start the microwave on the high setting and heat the mixture for one minute.
When the microwave is done, remove the cup and stir it again. By this time, most of the sugar will be dissolved into the water.
At this point the water should be warm, but not hot. If it is hot, let it sit for a while before filling your hummingbird feeders. Fill your feeders and watch the hummingbirds begin to flock to the feeders.
Here is something else to know about hummingbird feeders. If you live in an area with cold winters, set your hummingbird feeders up in early springtime. When hummingbirds return to an area, they establish their feeding areas very early. Once they find your feeders, they will return.