When it comes to feeding hummingbirds, backyard birders find themselves in a Catch-22. On the one hand, they love seeing their tiny friends drinking homemade nectar from their feeders. True enthusiasts would enjoy nothing more than having their feeders visited on a daily basis. On the other hand, hummingbirds have huge appetites, each one potentially eating its own weight in food every day. Were nectar making a simple process, satisfying the hummers’ appetites would be easy, but the fact is that the traditional method of preparing nectar is time-consuming. From measuring the components of the mixture, to pouring the mixture into a pot, to waiting for it to boil and then cool, to having to clean up the mess, this process can easily take an hour or more. Therein lies the predicament for hummingbird enthusiasts. They want hummers to enjoy their feeders, but keeping the feeders filled is drudgery, especially as the hummingbird population grows throughout the season.
Backyard birder, David Peterson, became aware of this dilemma in 2015. As the owner of a wild bird store, Mr. Peterson observed that his customers were making less nectar as the hummingbird season wore on. Obviously, the opposite should have been true. “My conclusion,” says Mr. Peterson, “was that people were getting tired of the time-consuming task of making the nectar.” Not only did Mr. Peterson learn that his patrons found the nectar making process time-consuming, he discovered that many of them were confused about the process itself. A quick search of online hummingbird enthusiast communities bears out Mr. Peterson’s observations. Discussion boards are filled with numerous questions regarding nectar ingredients, mixture ratios, shelf-life, and more. “There had to be a faster, less complicated way,” Mr. Peterson recalls thinking to himself. So, as an inventor and entrepreneur, he set out to improve the nectar making process. His efforts led to the creation of the Sugar Shaker Nectar MakerTM, a product designed to make life easier for hummingbird enthusiasts, add joy to their hobby, and help ensure the health and happiness of the hummers.
The Sugar Shaker Nectar MakerTM saves time in a number of ways. First, it eliminates the need for digging through kitchen drawers and cabinets in search of measuring cups, spoons, and pots. Lines for the recommended amounts of sugar and cold water needed to make healthy nectar are clearly marked on the Sugar Shaker Nectar MakerTM so that the ingredients can be perfectly measured and the nectar produced all in one container. Second, it does away with the unnecessary step of boiling the nectar. Using the Sugar Shaker Nectar MakerTM involves about 30 seconds of shaking the bottle to mix the contents. According to Mr. Peterson, “Most folks don’t know why they are boiling the water. While doing research on why to boil the water I noticed most authentic sites pointed out that boiling the water actually kills the mold in the sugar. However, once the hummingbird sticks its tongue into the nectar, it immediately deposits new germs into the solution. The evidence points to maybe an extra day of clear, fresh nectar by boiling but in the heat of the summer that still means you need to change it every 3 days.” Third, the Sugar Shaker Nectar MakerTM cuts down dramatically on cleanup time. There are no cooking utensils to wash and there is no spilled residue to be scrubbed off the countertops and/or floor. “That sticky mess,” adds Mr. Peterson, “is an open invitation to ants if it is not completely wiped up.”
In addition to its time-saving features, each Shaker Nectar MakerTM is safe to use, contains no BPAs, and is made of tough PP5 plastic that will last for years. It is also distinctively labeled so that everyone in the house can see what the bottle is for. Anyone who has ever used an unmarked plastic bottle for multiple purposes understands the importance of this. The last thing any hummer lover would ever want to do would be to mistakenly fill a feeder with contaminated nectar caused by using a bottle that had contained harmful solutions.
The thousands of hummingbird enthusiasts who are already using the Sugar Shaker Nectar MakerTM love how simple it is to use. They also love the fact that they now have more time to sit back, relax, and enjoy watching their beautiful, fast-flying friends joyfully getting their fill at their feeders.
The Sugar Shaker Nectar MakerTM can be ordered online at https://sugarshakernectarmaker.com. For more information, call David Peterson of The Best Nest of Georgia, Inc. at 770-418-1993 or email him at info@sugarshakernectarmaker.com.