Now, even though hummingbirds will drink juices from ripe fruit: don’t give them fruit juice. Don’t worry–they’ll still find your feeder just fine without it! Red-dye is another thing you can avoid, as it can hurt the hummers. Artificial sweeteners don’t give hummingbirds any energy at all–they need real sugar. ![]() They all can cause problems for hummingbirds, such as introducing harmful bacteria and mold into their tiny systems. Don’t try to use raw sugar, brown sugar, honey, molasses, maple syrup, or any other sugar substitute. Their love of these six-legged creatures can even help reduce pests in your garden! What Should You Not Feed Hummingbirds?įirst, let’s cover that all-important sugar-water mix only: refined white sugar will do. Between trips to the feeder or to flowers, hummingbirds will eat hundreds of insects a day. Insects, an important protein source, are a close second to nectar. Their favorite is a plain sugar water mix: one part regular table sugar to four parts water.Īnything different can cause problems, so keep it simple!Ī visit to a feeder with sugar water packs the same punch as visiting hundreds of nectar-filled flowers, so hummingbirds absolutely prefer feeders when they can find them. ![]() You’ll be giving them their naturally-occurring favorite fruits, plus you’ll attract the insects they eat even more of. Planting fruit shrubs and trees that are native to your area is also a great way to attract hummingbirds. The key is to pick pieces of fruit that are extra juicy and ripe. Otherwise, it won’t offer enough sweet liquid for hummingbirds to drink. People have observed birds eating things like ripe berries, oranges, persimmons, watermelons, and prickly pears. Hummingbirds like any juicy fruit that they can easily sip sugary liquid from. That fruit has to be good and juicy so they can sip from it instead. Since hummingbirds’ beaks aren’t designed for chewing, eating chunks of the fruit’s flesh isn’t really an option. Whether it’s nice and over-ripe, or already pecked open by another bird, it’s a chance that hummingbirds will drink the fruit’s sugary juices. The bulk of their diet is nectar and insects, but if a meal presents itself, hummers are there for it. ![]() Hummingbirds have crazy fast metabolisms that quickly deplete their energy reserves, so they have to take advantage of any available opportunity for food. Let’s dig deeper and find out more about the interesting ways hummers fuel up on fruit. They’re drawn to things like orange slices and even grape jelly.ĭo hummingbirds enjoy fruit too? It turns out that hummingbirds do take advantage of fruit, but maybe not in the ways you’d expect. Other nectar-drinking birds, like orioles, love to eat fresh fruit. They even travel across entire continents in the search for their next sugar rush! These carb-burning machines have insane energy requirements and refuel in any way they can. We all know that hummingbirds love sugar.
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