Its for the Birds

Oriole at the feeder

We are officially old. I used to tease my parents that they were old because they were into bird watching. Well, guess what? We have gone off the deep-end over the birds. I guess we are getting old. In our defense, we have some great birds. We have hummingbirds, herons, lots of geese, ducks, gulls, sand pipers, cardinals, blue birds, swallows, turkey vultures, jays, robins, orioles, just to name a few. The orioles are my favorite. We make sugar syrup for the hummingbirds and the oriels. That is how I am working it into this blog. We have a separate feeder for the hummingbirds but they seem to like the oriole's feeder better. Actually, I just want an excuse to post some of my bird pictures!

We make two different syrups for the birds.

Humming bird at the feeder

Hummingbird Nectar

1 Part Sugar
4 Parts Water

Combine the sugar and water in a saucepan. Bring the mixture to a boil and then remove from the stove. Allow to cool before using. This can be stored in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.

A woodpecker at the feeder

Oriole Nectar 
1 Part Sugar
6 Parts Water

Combine the sugar and water in a saucepan. Bring the mixture to a boil and then remove from the stove. Allow to cool before using. This can be stored in the refrigerator for up to two weeks. Oh! An oriole feeder is different from a hummingbird feeder: it has posts for the birds to perch on and bigger holes (also it is orange).

Oriole flying away

The bottom line: Will I make it again? Yes and in large quantities. These birds go through the sugar syrup like a football team goes through pizza.