Hummingbird Feeders: What is the Right Ratio of Sugar and Water

The right way and the wrong way to feed these tiny flyers

Orphaned Hummingbirds being reared from babies at FlyAway Bird Rescue by Suzette Feilen.Photo bySuzette Feilen

Hummingbird feeders are a popular item amongst bird lovers. Watching these tiny flyers hover as they feed is nothing short of miraculous. Their wings are beating faster than the eye can see as their tongue gobbles up all the yummy nectar or sugar water it can get.

My wife, Suzette Feilen is a permitted wild bird rehabilitator - both federal and State of Nevada. That means she can work with every species of bird from Hummingbird to Bald Eagle.

She is also one of the few people able to rehab hummingbirds from infancy (straight out of the egg) to adulthood and has a very high success rate of releases.

The picture above is a Hummer learning to feed off of flowers. The process is long ergo, one must be patient when working with these minute avian creatures.

There are fake flowers along the side of the cage, there is also a feeder in the center, then there is the buffet below - real flowers.

Once they are feeding on the flowers they get moved to an outdoor aviary with real plants inside. This allows them to get acclimated to the world outdoors. Sounds and visual triggers kick-start their innate tendencies, preparing them to be released.

Hummingbird Feeder and a HummingbirdPhoto byHeber DavisonUnsplash

Things you should know if you are going to have a feeder outside:

Sugar water is the closest thing we have to natural flower nectar. Other sweeteners can kill the bird, such as,

• Honey
• Molasses
• Artificial Sweetener
• Brown Sugar
• or any other sweeteners other than plain white granulated sugar

These substitute sweeteners will give them an awful disease, making it impossible for them to retract their tongue. Their tongues remain stuck in an out position, it turns black, and they are unable to eat - they starve.

Another cause of the disease is not keeping the feeder clean with fresh sugar water. Suzette says it is best to change the water out every other day during hot weather and every two to three days otherwise.

Interesting fact: Baby Hummers do not eat sugar water. They have to be fed a special type of formula. This replaces the nutrients missed from when their parents would feed them. Therefore, if you ever find a baby Hummingbird never try to feed it sugar water.

So, keep your Hummers safe when feeding from your feeders this summer and enjoy another one of life's miracles.

Hummingbird perched on a feeder.Photo byJames MordenonUnsplash

Young Hummingbirds learning to eat at FlyAway Bird Rescue in Nevada.Photo bySuzette Feilen

The Best Formula: There are two theories and both seem to work. One is the 1:3 ratio and the other is a more diluted mixture of a 1:4 ratio.

That means you use 1 part sugar for every 3 or 4 parts of boiled water. The link below gives step-by-step instructions on how to prepare and store your mixtures.

Check out - What is the correct ratio of sugar to water for hummingbirds? - Hummingbird101 by Kia Primack

References:

Suzette Feilen - Permitted Wild Bird Rehabilitator and Hummingbird specialist.

Kia Primack - What is the correct ratio of sugar to water for hummingbirds?