If you have other nectar feeders in your yard, try temporarily taking them down until the hummingbirds find and use the new feeder. Take down other feeders: Hummingbirds may prefer to feed from dependable food sources like existing feeders.Here are some more tips to help attract birds to your hummingbird feeder: Before making any changes, try waiting at least two weeks to give them enough time to discover your feeder. It may take several weeks before the hummingbirds find and begin feeding regularly from a new feeder. It could also take some time for the hummingbirds to get used to a new landing pattern or learn the mechanics of drinking from a new feeding port.

They may be hesitant to try out a new feeder, especially if you have been offering nectar in other feeders – a tried and true food source. One thing to keep in mind is that all birds are creatures of habit.

Be sure to research the migratory pattern of hummingbirds in your area to make sure you haven’t put your feeder out too late, since this can cause them to overlook it later in the season. For the best chance of hummingbirds discovering your feeder, it is recommended to have it up and ready before they return from their winter migration. As they return from migration and end up in their ultimate destination, they will remember the source of their first meals - oftentimes coming back to the same feeders repeatedly. Hummingbirds are migratory birds, meaning they leave and return from a specific area seasonally. There are a few different factors that could be causing a hummingbird to choose a different source of food. The bird had been fed red nectar before coming into her care.Why aren’t the hummingbirds coming to my feeder? Naturalist Julie Zickefoose made a discovery while rehabbing a hummingbird. There is no benefit to using dyes in nectar, and there is every reason not to do so. That means 4 cups of water to every one cup of sugar. The mix that closely matches natural nectar is a 4 to 1 ratio of water to plain granulated sugar. A gallon of homemade nectar can be made for pennies, while the same amount of commercial nectar can cost several dollars. Many feeders have red caps, bases or decorations, and that color is enough to attract the birds. This means they ingest 17 times more red dye than the maximum daily limit recommended for humans. Hummingbirds consume 10g of nectar solution per day. The Accepted Daily Intake (ADI) for Red #40 approved for human consumption by the World Health Organization is a maximum of 7 mg per kg (0.007 mg/g) of body weight (equivalent to 0.007 mg per g body weight). The amount of dye is not regulated, and the birds are so small that ounce for ounce they are exposed to levels that far exceed amounts known to be harmful.

The concern about red dye comes not only from possible dangers of the chemical itself, but also from how the birds consume it. The Cornell Lab of Ornithology strongly recommends against using red dye in feeders: 'There is no research that proves red dye is safe for hummingbirds, and very compelling anecdotal information from experienced, licensed rehabbers that hummers who have been fed dyed food have higher mortality and suffer tumors of the bill and liver.' Experts have long discouraged the used of colored feeder solutions as unnatural and unnecessary. No scientific studies have been published on the health effects of synthetic dyes specifically on hummingbirds. The chemical name for Red Dye #40 is 2-naphthalenesulfonic acid, 6-hydroxy-5-((2-methoxy-5-methyl-4-sulfophenyl)azo)-, disodium salt, and disodium 6-hydroxy-5-((2-methoxy-5-methyl-4-sulfophenyl)azo)-2-naphthalenesulfonate. Although this dye is approved by the FDA in the United States, there is enough uncertainty about the safety of Red Dye #40 that it is banned in Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Sweden, and Switzerland. Do not use red-dye solution or add red food coloring in your hummingbird feeders.Ĭommercial nectars contain a petroleum-based dye, Red Dye #40. Everybody loves hummingbirds, so the last thing we want to do is to harm them.

Hummingbird feed