Dr. Reed Hainsworth and Dr. Larry Wolf, Professors of Biology at Syracuse University in New York, have been studying hummingbird physiology and ecology for 25 years in the United States and tropical America. They found that sugar concentrations differ widely among plant species, so no single sugar-water concentration is representative of all flower nectars that hummingbirds eat. The mean average sugar concentration for 65 plant species was 32 calories; the highest concentration was more than twice that, while the lowest was more than three times less than the average. This means hummingbirds will eat more or less frequently depending on the sugar concentration of nectar in the flowers they visit. Only a hummer knows why they choose flowers or feeders!
"One lone female today. She never went to the feeders, just the blue salvia." Cheryl K. in Zionsville, IN 10/13/14
"We have always found this time of year they only do the plants and do not even look at the feeders." Peg K. in Medford, NY 10/13/14
Josephine Urdahl, North Massapequa, NY