Feeding stations in southeastern Arizona attract rare beauties such as Lucifer Hummingbirds with plain old sugar water.
No. Molasses is absolutely not safe to feed hummingbirds. It’s high in iron, for which nectar- and fruit-eating birds have a very low tolerance. When hummingbirds consume more iron than their natural diet provides, the excess builds up in their organs and kills them slowly and painfully.
As I’ve covered here before, there are only two things that are absolutely safe to put in your hummingbird feeders: sugar and water. Just add 1 part white granulated sugar to 4 parts good quality water. Stir until dissolved (no boiling necessary). Adding to or substituting for this recipe could put their health at risk, and what intelligent, caring person would want to do that to a hummingbird?
But since there have been so many searches like this lately, let me repeat and expand the list of things that don’t belong in hummingbird feeders:
- Honey
- Molasses
- Brown or even brownish (turbinado, “raw”) sugar
- Powdered sugar (which contains anti-caking ingredients)
- Pancake syrup
- High-fructose corn syrup
- Artificial sweeteners (Sweet ‘n’ Low, Equal, Splenda, or their generics)
- Anything containing artificial sweeteners
- Artificial food coloring, including but not limited to Red #40
- Anything containing artificial coloring (including many “instant nectar” and “hummingbird food” products)
- Anything containing sodium benzoate (including most “instant nectar” and “hummingbird food” products)
- Nutritional supplements (protein powder, etc.)
- Jell-O or equivalent products
- Gatorade or other sports drinks
- Kool-Aid, Crystal Light, or equivalents
- Mountain Dew, Red Bull, or other energy drinks
- Alcoholic beverages of any kind
- Carbonated beverages of any kind
- Fruit juices (except a small amount added to sugar water for color, if you must)
- Beet juice or other vegetable juices
- Lemonade
- Coffee
- Tea (black, green or herbal)
- Dairy products or substitutes
- Vegetable oils
- Soup, broth, or consommé
- Vanilla extract or other natural flavorings
I just wish to say I appreciate the info you have posted on here. I was at a friend’s house this weekend and she was talking of putting up a hummingbird feeder. They drink well water and it is slightly colored with minerals (I hope, but we’ve never gotten sick drinking it) I was able to tell her that the well water is not good for the hummies and she said she will get filtered water specifically for them.
Now I just need to convince some one they do not need to spray their hummingbird feeders with perfume. They think the scent attracts the hummingbirds…
By: The Birding Bunch on September 5, 2012
at 2:24 pm
Glad to help! As for your other “someone,” you should encourage them to sniff hummingbird-pollinated flowers such as Trumpet Creeper, Coral Honeysuckle, and Scarlet Lobelia. Even in the aromatic-foliaged sages, the flower itself has no fragrance, which is thought to help avoid attracting competing insects.
By: Sheri on September 5, 2012
at 5:26 pm