Hummingbirds prefer sucrose in flower nectar over other sugars.
Excerpted from “Ambrosia for the Hummingbird Gods” in “Popular Birding Series: Hummingbirds,” published by WildBirdmagazine.com publisher BowTie, Inc.
Hummingbirds prefer sucrose in flower nectar over other sugars such as fructose and glucose, according to tests cited by The Hummingbird Society, a nonprofit organization in Sedona, Ariz. Use the proper ratio of table sugar (sucrose) to water for a good approximation of the flower nectar that hummingbirds prefer.
Don’t use honey, artificial sweeteners, sugar substitutes, turbinado sugar, brown sugar or anything else. Those products can harm the birds.
Hummingbirds react to the color red, and most hummingbird feeders have red parts. It is not necessary, however, to add red food coloring to the sugar-water. Food coloring doesn’t add nutritional value and might harm the birds.
“The thumb represents one part sugar, and the four fingers represent the four parts water.”
Experts recommend mixing a 1:4 ratio of sugar and water solution for hummingbird nectar. Bob Sargent – co-founder of Hummer/Bird Study Group Inc., a nonprofit organization in Clay, Ala. – suggests the use of an open hand as a reminder of the sugar/water ratio. “The thumb represents one part sugar, and the four fingers represent the four parts water,” he explains.
One cup of sugar to four cups of water is a hummingbird recipe for starters. You can store extra sugar-water in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.
As when choosing hummingbird feeders, how you mix the sugar-water solution is a matter of personal preference. Some birdwatchers just stir it all together and pour the solution into their hummingbird feeders.
Other birders claim that sugar-water mixtures do not spoil as quickly if you boil the water first, add sugar, stir, cool and then fill the hummingbird feeders. However you do it, clean your hummingbird feeders before refilling them.