HOW TO - Make Your Own Nectars for Bird Feeders

There are many options on the market for bird feeders and they are available at large chain stores as well as farm and feed stores.  Making your own nectars for hummingbirds and other native birds is easy to do.  Recipes should utilize beet sugar when making them at home, as beet sugar comes the closest to the natural sugar in foods birds thrive on.  

Artificial sweeteners, brown sugars, honey, agave nectar, caster or confectioner's sugar, maple and corn syrups, and/or molasses should never be substituted for sugar in recipes for making your own nectars.  Use of these substitutes can create health issues for birds as the sugars are harder to digest.  In addition, fermentation during storage can create fungal and mold contamination in the feeders and storage containers. In addition, the syrups can change the consistency of the nectar making it difficult for the birds to consume and make their beaks sticky and difficult to open after eating.

See below for recipes to make your own food for Oriole & Hummingbird feeders:

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ORIOLE NECTAR RECIPE

• 1 cup grape jelly
• 1 cup water
• 1/2 cup white granulated beet sugar
• Juice from half an orange

1. Combine all ingredients and bring to a boil. 
2. Simmer, stirring occasionally until sugar is dissolved. 
3. Cool to room temperature and use immediately or store in the refrigerator for future use.

NOTE:  You can also fill your oriole feeders with a simple mixture of one-part sugar to four-parts water (heating the mixture until the sugar is dissolved).