Easy Hummingbird Food

My friend Jan says that April 15 is the date not only to file taxes, but also THE DAY to put out your hummingbird feeders. Taking her advice, we purchased two new feeders and put them out over the weekend.
There was some attractive red liquid available for purchase at the store, but it is quick to make your own (the red color is not necessary).

The hummingbird recipe, from  AllFree Crafts:

1 part sugar/4 parts water

Boil the water first, then measure and add sugar, at the rate of 1/4 cup of sugar to 1 cup of water. Let cool and store excess in refrigerator until ready to use. Do not add food coloring, honey (which ferments), or artificial sweetener, which has no nutritional value.

Hummingbirds cannot smell and depend on their eyesight to seek out flowers and food sources. Inexpensive hummingbird feeders are readily available and will attract the busy little birds without the need for coloring the food - the bright red container and easy food source will keep them coming throughout the day. Since hummingbirds are territorial, you may want to hang two feeders - one in the back yard and one in the front, to accommodate as many hummingbirds as you can. Hanging the feeders in a shady spot will discourage fermentation and spoilage of the nectar.

Keeping lookout both Saturday and Sunday, we did not view any hummingbird males scouting out the territory for the females that will arrive a week to ten days later. Maybe the males were just hanging out, watching tv, or doing what hummingbirds do in their spare time.

In the meantime, I'll try to keep the nectar and feeders freshened once or twice a week and keep a lookout for the little critters.