Thursday, July 2, 2009

Hummingbirds WILL Drink Blue Water

In May when my parents were here we got a hummingbird feeder because we noticed we had them around. We bought some food coloring and made our own syrup. Mom said it had to be red or they wouldn't come drink it. Well, Wade being the dare devil that he thinks he is, made blue water. We had neglected to fill it for a while so we weren't sure if they would come back, but they did. The bird that sits on top there thinks he owns the feeder. He chases off the other hummingbirds that come to drink. Our own little fighter pilots right outside our window!


4 comments:

  1. I thought it had to be red too. I guess I've never seen it any other color besides red. Happy 4th!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Actually, experts say not to color the water at all!

    ReplyDelete
  3. We've done all different colors...red, blue, green, yellow...Lee likes to experiment :) I think it's the flower on the feeder that attracts them, maybe?

    ReplyDelete
  4. It isn't necessary to color the water at all. The dye is actually believed to be quite harmful to the hummingbirds.

    What matters most to the hummingbirds is the sweetness of the nectar. The birds like it to be between 18% and 23% sugar consentration, because this most closely matches flower nectar.

    ReplyDelete