Hummingbirds belong to the unique group of birds that feed on nectar from flowering plants but also utilize sugar water feeders provided by humans. Many species of hummingbirds take advantage of feeders in urban settings. Allen’s (Selasphorus sasin) and Anna’s (Calypte anna) hummingbirds, common on the West Coast of the United States, have adapted well to human provisioning. Both store-bought and homemade solutions are commonly used, but which food birds favor is not known. This experiment fills the void in research on hummingbird food preferences, and aims to answer the research question: do hummingbirds coming to feeders prefer homemade nectar or store-bought mixture?
Homemade sugar water was compared to Perky-Pet hummingbird nectar concentrate at three sites in Los Angeles, California. The Gottlieb Native Garden was one of those sites.
Click here to see the published results.
Brix Meter Refractometer for Measuring Sugar Content