Hummingbirds are some of the smallest and most colorful birds found in North America. Their rapid wing beats and hovering flight patterns make them a joy to watch, especially when visiting flower gardens or feeders. Hummingbirds have very high metabolisms and must consume large amounts of sugar to fuel their energetic lifestyles. This has led many people to wonder – will hummingbirds eat suet?
What is Suet?
Suet is a hard fat made from rendered beef or mutton fat. It is commonly sold in cakes or blocks as bird food, providing a high-energy food source during cold winter months when insects are scarce. Suet offers an excellent source of fat and calories for many backyard birds when temperatures drop and food becomes limited.
Some common birds that are attracted to suet feeders include:
Woodpeckers
Woodpeckers love suet and will happily chisel away at suet cakes secured in hanging feeders or stuck to tree trunks. Downy, hairy, red-bellied, and other woodpeckers specifically seek out suet feeders in winter.
Chickadees
These tiny acrobatic birds will hang upside down from mesh suet cages to nibble away at suet nuggets. Both black-capped and Carolina chickadees are suet-loving visitors.
Nuthatches
White-breasted and red-breasted nuthatches forage for suet. Their agile climbing skills allow them to scale suet cages and feeders.
Titmice
Tufted titmice will regularly stop by suet feeders, sometimes aggressively chasing away other birds in their pursuit of the high-fat treat.
Wrens
Both Carolina and house wrens enjoy suet, especially in winter when their typical insect diet is scarce. They may cling to the sides of suet cages to feed.
Bluebirds
Eastern bluebirds are attracted to suet, especially when limited winter food sources are available.
Mockingbirds
Northern mockingbirds are omnivorous and will include suet as part of their varied diet.
Starlings
European starlings are aggressive about taking over suet feeders, often scaring away smaller native birds in the process.
Orioles
Baltimore and orchard orioles will take suet when they visit yards during spring and fall migration.
Do Hummingbirds Eat Suet?
Hummingbirds have very different dietary requirements than most suet-eating birds. Hummingbirds exist solely on sugary fluids – flower nectar and tree sap make up the entirety of their diet. They lack the enzymes necessary to properly digest fats and proteins. As a result, suet would provide no nutritional value for hummingbirds. In fact, attempting to digest the fatty suet could make hummingbirds quite sick.
While hummingbirds do not eat suet, they do have a very high metabolism and need to consume enormous quantities of sugary calories each day. Hummingbirds beat their wings up to 70 times per second and their hearts can reach over 1,200 beats per minute. This rapid energy burn requires frequent feeding on flower nectar, tree sap, and artificial liquid nectar from hummingbird feeders.
Do Hummingbirds Eat Insects?
While hummingbirds get nearly all their nutrition from sugary nectar, they do occasionally supplement their diet with tiny insects, especially protein-rich spiders and gnats. But insects make up a very small percentage of overall hummingbird diet.
Some key facts about hummingbirds eating insects:
- Insects provide essential amino acids not found in nectar
- Baby hummingbirds eat more insects to fuel growth and development
- Hummingbirds may eat more insects during migration when flower nectar is limited
- Preferred insect foods include spiders, gnats, aphids, fruit flies, moth larvae
- Hummingbirds do not eat seeds or hard suet – their bills are not built for crushing
While tiny insects can provide nutrition, hummingbirds lack the digestive enzymes necessary to break down fats and proteins. They cannot survive on insect food alone. The vast majority of their diet must come from sugary nectar.
Best Foods to Offer Hummingbirds
If you want to attract hummingbirds to your yard, skip the suet and focus on providing them with the high-energy sugar sources they need:
Nectar Feeders
Fill specialized hummingbird feeders with homemade nectar. Use a 4:1 ratio of water to white granulated sugar only. No food coloring, honey, or other additives are necessary. Change nectar every 2-3 days to prevent spoilage.
Native Plants
Grow native flowering plants that offer tubular blooms full of nectar attractive to hummingbirds. Some excellent options include bee balm, cardinal flower, Columbine, trumpet vine, salvia, honeysuckle, and penstemon.
Fruit
Occasionally supplement feeders with small halved fruit like grapes, melon, banana, oranges, and apple. Hummingbirds will drink the sweet juice.
Sugar Water
Hummingbird feeders provide the best source of nutrition, but in a pinch you can make an emergency nectar substitute by mixing 1 part white sugar with 4 parts hot water until dissolved. Let cool before pouring into a small shallow container placed outside.
Oriole Feeders
Consider putting out an oriole nectar feeder in spring and fall when hummingbirds migrate through your area. Orioles eat the same nectar foods as hummingbirds.
Avoid Red Food Coloring
Do not add red food coloring to homemade nectar. The dye offers no nutritional value and can be harmful to hummingbird health.
Key Takeaways – Will Hummingbirds Eat Suet?
- Hummingbirds subsist entirely on sugary nectar – they do not eat fats or proteins like suet.
- Fatty suet offers no nutritional value and may make hummingbirds sick.
- While hummingbirds occasionally supplement with tiny insects, nectar makes up the vast majority of their diet.
- To attract hummingbirds use nectar feeders, flowering plants, fruit, and sugar water – not suet.
Frequently Asked Questions
Should I offer mealworms to hummingbirds?
No, hummingbirds do not eat hard foods like mealworms or seed. Their bills are adapted for lapping up liquid nectar, not crushing foods. Mealworms could choke a hummingbird. Stick to liquid nectar sources.
What about raw meat for hummingbirds?
Never offer raw meat to hummingbirds. Like suet, meat contains proteins and fats that hummingbirds cannot properly digest. Meat could make hummingbirds very ill and even kill them.
Is it OK to feed hummingbirds yellow, honey-flavored nectar?
No, stick to plain white sugar and water only. Artificial colors and flavors, and honey can promote dangerous bacterial and fungal growth in nectar that could harm hummingbird health. The birds do not need flavor enhancers.
Should I provide grit for my hummingbirds?
Hummingbirds get any small bits of grit or minerals they need from flower pollen they ingest while feeding on nectar. You do not need to provide additional grit. Avoid sand or salts at feeders.
Can I mix suet with nectar for hummingbirds?
Never combine suet with nectar. Even small amounts of fat from suet could cause digestion problems. Hummingbirds cannot safely ingest any amount of fat or protein. Stick to pure sugar-water nectar only.
What about food coloring in my hummingbird nectar?
Artificial coloring is not necessary and the dye may be problematic for hummingbird health. Red-colored feeders are enough to attract the birds without adding potentially harmful dyes to their nectar. Use only plain white sugar mixed with water.
Conclusion
Hummingbirds are specialized nectar feeders that get nearly 100% of their diet from sugary floral nectar and tree sap. They lack the digestive enzymes to break down fats and proteins. This means suet, despite being a favorite high-fat food of many other backyard birds, offers absolutely no nutritional value for hummingbirds. In fact, suet could make hummingbirds quite sick and should never be offered. To attract these energetic pollinators provide them with specialized nectar feeders, beautiful nectar-rich flowers, small fruit, and occasional sugar-water mixes. With the right high-energy foods, you can enjoy these tiny birds buzzing happily around your yard all season long. Avoid suet and stick to sweet liquids and you’ll give them just what they crave!
