Kathy Burns-Millyard

Hummingbirds feed off of plants and a few insects, but because of the speed which their wings flutter when they're in flight, they tend to burn a heck of a lot of energy. They need to eat about every 15 minutes!

You can help by providing Humming Bird Food, known as Hummingbird Nectar, in your yard or garden. There's no reason to buy it from the store either, because it's just simple sugar and water.

And it's easy too: 4 parts water to 1 part sugar. That's it.

So, if you wanted to make 4 cups of Hummingbird Nectar, you'd first boil 4 cups of water for about 5 minutes. Turn the water off then stir in the sugar. Keep stirring until it's completely dissolved.

Do not add any coloring, flavoring, powdered drink mixes, honey or otherwise: All of these can be dangerous to the Humming birds.

Let the mixture cool fully before putting it out for your Humming birds too, you wouldn't want to accidently hurt them with hot Nectar.

Put any remaining nectar in the fridge, it can keep for about two weeks.

© 2005, Kathy Burns-Millyard. This article is brought to you by The Bird House Shop Section of The Garden Source Network, where you can buy Humming Bird Feeders, Bird Houses, Bird Baths and Related Wild Bird Accessories.

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