Hummingbird Feeders & General Information

• Hummingbird feeders come in many shapes and sizes. Brightly colored and red feeders work best for attracting hummingbirds.
• Hummingbirds are very competitive and territorial, so put up enough feeders to accommodate your hummingbird population and cut down on competition.
• Arizona is lucky to have hummingbirds all year-round, so keep the feeders up even in summer.
• Discourage other birds from using your hummingbird feeders by removing nearby perches, as hummingbirds do not need to perch while feeding.
• Plant vegetation that attracts hummingbirds - red tubular flowers are a favorite. In addition to nectar, the plants provide insects and other nutrients that hummingbirds need. Contact your local gardener, library or information booklets available from Arizona Game & Fish for more ideas.
• Home-made hummingbird mix is less expensive than store brands and does not contain red dye. Red is a good color only if it occurs naturally (like on a flower). The red dye in commercially available hummingbird food has not yet been tested for safety and has no nutritional value for hummingbirds. Use only pure beet or cane sugar for hummingbird food. Honey can produce a fungus that affects the birds' tongues and contains artificial sweeteners that have no nutritional value.
• Clean feeders thoroughly each time you change the feeding solution. Use hot water and a brush that reaches into the container. If you use soap (though hot water alone should be sufficient), be sure to rinse the container throughly and get all the soap out.
• Hummingbirds cannot survive long without heat and frequent feedings (every 10 minutes). They need immediate care. If you find and orphaned, injured or displaced hummingbird contact us.

Summer Time Feeder Care:

Feeders should be cleaned and filled with fresh solution DAILY. The Arizona sun and heat cause molds and fuzz to develop very quickly and can be deadly to hummingbirds.

Winter Time Feeder Care:

Feeders should be checked daily, and cleaned and filled at least every 3 to 5 days. Any sign of color change in the solution requires immediate cleaning and fresh solution.

OUTDOOR HUMMINGBIRD FEEDER RECIPE

1	CUP	Pure beet or cane sugar
4	CUPS	Water
1. Boil mixture until the sugar is completely dissovled
2. Allow mixture to cool
3. Fill feeders
* Extra mixture can be stored in the refrigerator (discard any mixture that shows signs of discoloration) DO NOT use HONEY or ARTIFICIAL SWEETENERS