Each April, Chris and I look forward to bringing out the hummingbird feeders and making homemade hummingbird food. This has become a little spring ritual at our house, often coinciding with the removal of our Christmas lights. (Kidding. OK, not kidding this year. I forgot about the string of lights on the deck railing. But shouldn’t we all keep the spirit of Christmas year-round?).

Back to the birds. Now that we’ve been feeding these little cuties for a few years, we get regular visits from Ruby-Throated Hummingbirds. You may be wondering how we can be sure that’s what they are if we can’t see their little throats. I’ll give you our secret:  we use an app on our phones called Merlin Bird ID from Cornell Labs. You can use to identify birds not only by sight, but by their song. It’s pretty cool! You can find it in the App Store.

Why homemade?

We did a little research and found out that the red stuff you buy in the store is not good for birds. Store-bought nectar contains preservatives and other additives that can be harmful to hummingbirds, so why spend the money? Making your own is easy and so inexpensive!

The recipe

We make our homemade hummingbird food based on a very simple recipe from the National Zoo: one part refined white sugar to four parts water. Stir, stir, stir until very well dissolved – fill your feeders and store any extra in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.

That’s it! No special ingredients are needed, and no red food coloring, please! (It’s not necessary, just use a red feeder). Tap water will do the trick, and you don’t even have to boil it.

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SUPER IMPORTANT FACT HERE:  Only use regular refined sugar – honey, powdered sugar, and other sweeteners are harmful to birds. Plain old granulated sugar is all you need.

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How to maintain your feeder

Because it is gets pretty hot here in Tennessee, we clean the feeder and change out the nectar every other day. You may get away with stretching it an extra day or two if you live in a cooler climate, but your birds will appreciate a fresh batch at least once or twice a week, wherever you live.

Benefits to all

Did you know that birdwatching – and any contact with nature in general – is good for your mental health and overall well-being? Yep, a little dose of nature can lower your blood pressure and heart rate, and reduces stress, anxiety, and depression. Throw in some birdwatching and you have a chill, meditative activity to help you be a little more present and feel more grounded. Plus, learning about birds can give us a greater appreciation for the world we live in and motivate us to take better care of it.

Not a bad trade-off for a little sugar water, right?  

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