How to Build a DIY Hummingbird Feeder

Do you love those frisky, flashy little birds as much as I do? There's nothing like seeing a swarm of hummingbirds flitting brilliantly past the front window, like iridescent, miniature fighter planes, duking it out over prime nectar territory.

Many hummingbirds are migratory, except a few species that live in the Southwest United States or Southern Florida. Depending on where you live, the hummingbirds should arrive in your area near the month of May. The warmer the climate, the earlier they'll show up. Hummingbirds will typically head for the area that is in bloom first, and follow the wave of flowers north, eating as they go. When a hummingbird finds a place that promises to provide an adequate source of food, he will stop and make his home for the year.

The main thing that attracts hummingbirds is food. They are in constant need of food in order to fuel the high metabolic rate at which their bodies must operate to stay aloft. A hummingbird feeder, filled with sugar water, is a good place to start. Hummingbirds prefer red, trumpet shaped flowers over all other types, so planting a few varieties that have these types of flowers will encourage the hummingbirds to stop and make a home in your yard, as well.

Commercially available hummingbird feeders can be quite expensive, depending on how elaborately they are made. You can make your own version at home with a small plastic jar, a shoestring, a drill, some improvised "flowers" cut from the side of a two liter, some red paint, and a hot glue gun. The over-priced hummingbird food they sell in many garden supply centers is just a corn sugar (fructose and dextrose) or cane sugar (sucrose) syrup that can be easily cooked up at home out of simple ingredients. (I've included a recipe below.)

The DIY Hummingbird Feeder

Do not use a glass jar in case the feeder blows down in a storm. A plastic jar will do less damage and make less mess if it is swept away by violent weather. The best jar to use would be plastic, small, wide and short, with a tight fitting screw-on lid. My favorite homemade hummingbird feeder is made of an old plastic jar that once held facial moisturizer. The jar is squat and small, and has a lid that screws on tight to keep out bugs. Make sure the jar you use is well washed and all previous contents are completely cleaned out.

Drill a hole in the exact center of the jar lid.

Tie a knot in one end of the shoestring.

Thread the unknotted end of the string though the hole from the inside out. When you hold the string by the unknotted end, the lid should slide down and stop at the knot, with the inside of the lid pointing down. If the lid slides past, double the knot until there's no chance that the lid could slip.

Drill more holes, one every few inches, all the way around the lid, a little bit away from the edge. When the lid is on the jar, you should be able to see into the jar through the holes.

Cut 1" by 3" strips from the side of a two-liter. Fashion the strips into tight funnel shapes, and secure with hot glue. Make as many funnels as there are holes in the jar lid.

Paint the outside of each funnel with non-toxic red paint and allow to dry.

Use the hot glue to secure the funnels with their noses protruding into the jar through the holes you drilled.

Fill the jar with hummingbird food up to where it reaches the ends of the funnels. Screw on the lid. Hang your feeder by the shoestring, in a shady location to prevent food spoilage and evaporation. (Don't worry. Sugar syrup water used to be used as a preservative! It won't spoil easily, so long as you keep it from being exposed to an entire day's worth of full sun.)

Making Hummingbird Food

Once a week or more, you need to clean the feeder and dispose of any uneaten sugar water. Take one part ordinary white sugar and four parts water and place in a saucepan on the stove. Heat on low until the water starts to boil. Allow the hummingbird food to cool completely, and then pour it into the feeder. Any unused portion can be covered and saved for up to two weeks in the fridge.