Nectar ratio according to best available science

[SuzanneK]

What a great thread! The suggestions about increasing the ratio of sugar to water is based on old information that’s been found to be incorrect.

Some of the most reliable sources – Cornell Lab of Ornithology http://www.birds.cornell.edu/pfw/AboutBirdsandFeeding/BirdFoods.htm and Seattle Audubon http://seattleaudubon.org/who-we-are.cfm?id=1380.

According to both, we should use only the 4-1 ratio of water to sugar regardless of the weather. There’s a lot of good information on these sites about feeding hummingbirds, as well as other species. But I disagree with Seattle Audubon when they say that our winters are usually mild and not to worry about our hummers when severe weather hits. It’s very clear from their behavior that they are desperate for every scrap of help we are willing to provide them. This incredible cold snap is far more severe than anything they could survive on their own.

I should mention that my background is in the study of bird behavior, wildlife rehabilitation, and raising birds (20+ years and counting).

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[cjboffoli]

SuzanneK: Do you have any links that actually reveal the research. Both of these links seem to lead only to summaries.

http://www.hummingbirds.net/hainsworth.html

http://www.sweetbeak.com/faq.asp

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