Handmade for Hummingbirds
This time of year is when hummingbirds start making an appearance in many of our gardens, but those cheap plastic feeders don’t lend much ambiance. Luckily, there are many methods out there for making them yourself out of re-purposed materials.
Kelly recently showed us some great examples of glass bottles turned useful again, and here is another project to add to the list. You will need: a glass bottle with an opening that would fit a standard cork, Heavy gauge wire and cutters, and a purchased stopper for a hummingbird feeder. You can find these on pottery supply sites such as Aftosa, and occasionally at specialty garden shops. Thoroughly wash out the bottle. Then, wrap the wire around it so that it will hang upside down or at an angle in the location you will be placing it. Fill it with nectar, cork and hang! Here are some simple instructions for mixing nectar from Hummingbirds.net. They stress not to add red dye, as it may be dangerous for the birds to consume:
- Use one part ordinary white cane sugar to four parts water.
- This mixture approximates the average sucrose content (about 21%) of the flowers favored by North American hummingbirds, without being so sweet it attracts too many insects.
- Store unused syrup in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.
- It’s not necessary to boil the water. The microorganisms that cause fermentation don’t come from the water; they are transported to the feeder on hummingbird bills.
Some additional ideas:
This tutorial by Nannette Richford on Associated Content features instructions for recycling parts from old hummingbird feeders into spouts for miniature bottle feeders, and offers up lots of helpful tips as well.
KidsGardening.com has a fun activity that involves designing feeders from disposable plastic containers.
Instructables shows you how to mod your digital camera so you can shoot photos of hummingbirds.
The feeder in the photo above looks to be an advanced version of the glass bottle method I described. You could decorate and embellish any of these projects in countless ways, and they would make great gifts too!
Photo Credit: revgriddler on Flickr
super cute idea!
That is the coolest thing!
There’s a little hummingbird that seems to live in my backyard and flies around all the time. It’s so pretty!
[...] the house when we moved in. They look like giant strawberries–not that attractive. However, this article on Crafting a Green World has a tutorial on making your own feeder from a glass bottle and copper tubing–another great [...]