Category: Hummingbird Feeders

The use of a hummingbird feeder is a simple and easy simple way to try and attract this amazing creatures to your yard.  The task of purchasing one can seem quite overwhelming.  What style, size or even color should you select?  There is no perfect answer for this dilemma, but here is my advice regarding choosing the "right" size feeder.  When you are considering your choice, you will want to try and select a feeder that matches your areas hummingbird population.  The more birds in the area the larger you will want the capacity of the feeder to be.  You may also not want to fill the feeder up to capacity if all the nectar isn’t being used.  If you begin to see that your yard has be come a hummingbird haven, you may want to hang multiple feeders, because this can help solve the problem of overly aggressive and territorial birds.

Hummingbirds do not instinctively recognize hummingbird feeders as a food source.  Hummingbird feeders have not been around long enough for this to be the case.  The first hummingbird feeder wasn’t for sale until 1950 when the Audubon Novelty Company of Medina, New York offered it for sale. 

So, how do hummingbirds come to know the feeder as a food source?  They must learn to do this and this happens by them watching other hummingbirds feed at it and through their own naturally inquisitive nature. 

Do the hummingbirds that visit your feeders seem to favor one type of feeder over another?  If so, thiis probably simply because it is the type the birds are most farmiliar with.  Whenever you must replace a feeder or you just want to add a new one to your yard, the birds will probably not feed from it right away, but don’t worry they will eventually come to accept it and begin feeding from it.    If you want to speed up the process of the birds feeding from the new feeder, it may help if you hang the old feeder, empty next to the new one.  Then when the hummingbirds have found the new feeder and are feeding from it regularly, you can then remove the old hummingbird feeder.

According to the Kern River Preserve in in southern California, if you live in a very cold climate it is recommend that the perches be removed from your hummingbird feeders in the winter.  Doing so will help ensure that hummingbirds keep their metabolism up while feeding in the cold temperatures. It is possible for a hummingbird to get too cold and die while perched in the winter.

The site unfortunately does not define the phase "a very cold climate." I will have to leave that determination individually up to those of you who live wherever the temperatures are extremely cold.  My personal advice would be to use your best personal judgement on the matter, after all no one who is a hummingbird enthusiast would wish to do any harm to these amazing birds.  

• First and foremost, you want the feeders to gain the attention of the hummingbirds! If for any reason the feeder needs to be moved later, you can do so. The birds will look for it even after you move it, because they have learned that your yard is a dependable food source.
• In warmer weather, place the feeder in a shady area. The cooler the feeder, the less likely it is to leak or drip. Also, your nectar solution won’t spoil as quickly.
• Placing the feeder in a shady area will prevent the sunlight’s ultraviolet rays from damaging as quickly the materials of which the feeder is made.
• If you are having trouble with aggressive hummingbirds and you have multiple feeders, then place the feeders at least 30 feed apart from each other. This seems to keep the number of confrontations between the birds to a minimum.

The use of a feeder is probably one of the easiest ways to attract hummingbirds.  Where you place your feeder is very important.  It is my hope that the following tips will help you select the proper location for your feeder.

• The feeder should be placed in the shade, because this will help prevent the rapid spoilage of the nectar during warm weather.
• You will want to place your feeder high enough to prevent squirls and other preditors from being able to reach it.
• The feeder should be placed out of the wind, because gusty winds can cause the nectar solution to slosh out of it.
• The feeder can be placed among flowers, shrubs or trees that are known to attract hummingbirds.  This will offer the birds a choice of which food souce from which to feed.

Now that you have selected the proper location for your hummingbird feeder, fill it up, wait and watch for the hummingbirds to arrive.  If you are an avid birdwatcher then you are among very good company, because birdwaching and gardening are the top two outdoor activities in America today.  The birds will surly provide you with many hours of enjoyment.  You will wonder why you did not put out a feeder before now and the birds will be thankful for a reliable food souce.