With heat indexes almost daily soaring above 110°F, the nectar we offer our hummingbird neighbors can quickly spoil. With that in mind, here are a couple of simple tips that help ensure that rubythroats will be dining on nectar that has not spoiled.

       While summer temperatures soar, the hummingbird nectar we provide in the feeders’ spoils more rapidly than it does when temperatures are not excessively hot.  With that in mind, if you are using large feeders that take hummingbirds days to drain, put them away and use smaller feeders.  In addition, it is a good idea to replace the unused fluid in your feeders every couple of days. 

       If you notice that the nectar in a feeder is cloudy, immediately discard it. That is a sure sign that it is no longer fresh.