4 Alternative Foods for Hummingbirds Besides Sugar Water

Hummingbirds are fast flying animals. They can beat their heart up to 1,260 beats per minute and their wings beat 80 times per second. They have quick circulatory systems and wings, but they also have other quick features. Hummingbirds have the fastest metabolism of all living things. They actually have metabolisms that are 100 times faster than elephants and 75 times faster than humans.

Although hummingbirds weigh only 3-4 grams, they require a lot of energy to maintain their fast metabolism. Hummingbirds would need to eat over 150,000 calories a day if they were people! This means that hummingbirds are always looking for food. Resting for even 30 minutes can burn a lot of calories hummingbirds die in their sleep.

How Hummingbirds Build Energy

Hummingbirds need to eat twice their body weight in food every day to feed them. Hummingbirds are omnivores, meaning they eat a wide variety of foods, contrary to the popular belief that they only eat nectar from plants or hummingbird feeders. These include insects, flies, mosquitoes and ants as well as spiders. Actually, most of the hummingbird’s food is insects, which it often catches in the air.

Because of their fast metabolism, hummingbirds also need sugar, which is provided by flower nectar. Hummingbirds reject flowers whose nectar is less than they expect and choose flowers whose nectar is high in sugar. To mimic nectar, many people set up hummingbird feeders filled with sugar water. The  Sugar water mixturesis easy to prepare, and just require a 1:4 ratio of sugar and water.

Safe Ingredients for a Sugar Water Mixture

Although they do not have a taste preference, hummingbirds should only be fed pure white sugar when making a sugar water mixture. Never use corn syrup, honey, sugar substitutes or other sweeteners. This is because they may contain ingredients that are harmful to hummingbirds. Red dye #40 contains compounds that can harm hummingbirds, despite the fact that red dye is frequently mixed with sugar water. Fortunately, hummingbirds are drawn to the color red, but sugar water can replace red food coloring as well.

While feeding hummingbirds with sugar water is an easy task, other items attract the birds’ attention and provide them with an important source of sustenance. These four ideas offer alternatives to sugar water and can help you attract more hummingbirds to your yard.

#1: Plant Nectar

Although they prefer fresh water from hummingbird feeders, flowers are the main natural supply of nectar for hummingbirds. In order to provide them with plenty of food along the way, hummingbird migration is seasonal and coincides with the blooming time of flowers. Food provides energy, which is essential for migration. Because migration is a long process. Some species, such as the rufous hummingbird, migrate long distances; In the spring, they migrate from Mexico to Alaska and back again in the fall. To transit the Gulf of Mexico, the ruby-throated hummingbird often flies nonstop for 18 to 20 hours.

During their two annual migrations, hummingbirds need food, so provide your garden with early and late blooming flowers to aid in their long trek. Birds prefer nectar with a moderate amount of sugar About 26% of the total sugar content – almost double that of soda. If the nectar is too thick or sticky, hummingbirds will not be able to consume it.

Apart from its nectar, the flower has the power to attract or repel hummingbirds. Hummingbirds seek out long, tubular flowers that allow them to easily insert their bills and tongues into them for a feast. Hummingbirds often draw bright colors that are easily noticeable, such as orange or red. Coral honeysuckle, cardinal flowers, columbine, bee balm, and butterfly bush are popular plants that attract hummingbirds.

#2: Fruit

Fruit attracts insects, but opportunistic hummingbirds find it a convenient snack – even if it’s not their main food source. Hummingbirds’ beaks are made for drinking, not chewing or pecking, so they can only eat juicy fruits.

Tempting possibilities include watermelon, berries, apples, oranges, peaches or pears. If the peel is peeled or torn, exposing the tasty interior, it will be easier for hummingbirds to eat. Overripe or brown bananas are also attractive, but to make them more palatable, they should be cut and peeled. Insects will be drawn to the fruit even if there are no hummingbirds.

#3: Store-Bought Nectar

Although commercial choices are also available, sugar water is the most effective alternative to natural nectar for hummingbirds. Although many store-bought alternatives contain dyes or chemicals that can be dangerous to birds, pre-made solutions eliminate the laborious task of combining sugar and water. Premade nectar is dye-free and if you buy it make sure it is sucrose based. Great elixirs contain only water and sugar; No other materials are used. Generally speaking, making sugar water at home is safer (and less expensive) than buying the prepackaged variety.

#4: Insects

It may not be a good idea to remove insects from your garden, but hummingbirds love places where there are plenty of bugs to eat. Ants are drawn to sugar water feeders, causing many people to suffer. But for hummingbirds, insects are another source of food. Hummingbirds are attracted to insects that are attracted to ripe or overripe fruit.

If you prefer not to have overripe fruit in your yard, there are feeders made specifically to attract bugs that hummingbirds love to eat. These protein feeders look like red sugar-water feeders and may contain fruit or banana peels. Fruit flies are drawn to incubating fruits and peels, and fruit flies in turn attract hummingbirds.

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