They stick it into flowers and get pollen all over it, wipe their bill on branches and leaves, clean their feathers and pick off mites and dirt with it, catch bugs….you get the idea. But even more than that, the hummingbirds themselves contaminate the nectar! Hummingbird with pollen on it’s beak| image by Becky Matsubara via Flickr | CC BY 2.0Ī hummingbirds bill is not a clean surface. The problem here is, even the most sterile nectar won’t stay sterile for long.Īs soon as you bring it outside, the feeding ports bring the nectar into contact with air, which can carry any number of contaminants, fungus and mold spores. This makes the idea of boiling your water sound smart, in order to sterilize your nectar and kill off any potential microorganisms. In extremely hot weather this can happen with 1-2 days! Nectar can become cloudy, stringy, discolored and unsafe for hummingbird consumption. These microorganisms eat and digest sugar, creating by-products like acids and alcohols. The warm, high sugar environment is a breeding ground for mold, fungus and bacteria. Hummingbird nectar can spoil rather quickly, especially in hot weather. Will boiling the water keep nectar fresh longer? That’s a pretty safe rule of thumb to go by, only make nectar with water that you would be comfortable drinking.
If you use an alternative water source for drinking in your home (bottled water, filtered water etc), then please use that same water for making your nectar. Each house is different and you may have local issues with hard water, well water, high iron content, high chlorine or other known pollutants.
I know there may be some of you who choose not to drink water straight from your tap. However Audubon, hummingbird rehabilitators and other reputable organizations agree that if your tap water is safe for you to drink, it is safe for hummingbirds too. But in-depth studies have not been done to determine precise “safe consumption levels” for hummingbirds of various water impurities. Of course, a hummingbird’s body and a human body are not the same thing. Municipal tap water has to follow strict guidelines to ensure it is treated and filtered to be safe for human consumption. Some people believe that these impurities can cause injury to hummingbirds and boiling the water makes it safer for them to consume.īoiling water can get rid of microorganisms and can help dissipate chlorine, but won’t remove much else. We all know tap water isn’t 100% pure and may contain small amounts of impurities. It usually is not worth all this extra time, and sugar at the proper 1:4 ratio will dissolve in room temperature water within a few minutes if stirred.ĭoes boiling water for hummingbird nectar remove impurities? It takes time to wait for water to boil, and then for the nectar to cool off to room temperature after mixing.
Therefore boiling ahead of time to try and start off with a “sterile” slate and avoid spoilage doesn’t make a significant difference. Hummingbirds contaminate the nectar just by sticking their beaks in it to drink.However if you use bottles or filtered water for drinking instead of your tap for safety reasons, you should also use that for your nectar. Boiling is not necessary to remove additional impurities. As long as the water from your tap is safe for you to drink, it will be safe for hummingbirds.Here are the bullet points, and below we will deep dive each one. Let’s do a little investigating into these ideas. There are three main reasons why people think boiling the water used to make nectar is necessary. “It’s not necessary to boil the water, but keep any extra nectar refrigerated, and empty the feeder every few days, more often in hot weather.” I’ve seen a lot of debate around this topic. Should You Boil The Water When Making Hummingbird Food? One of the most common questions I see when it comes to making your own hummingbird food is, should you boil the water? The answer is you can if you want to, but no it is not necessary. If you have hummingbird feeders in your yard, then you are probably making your own nectar.
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