Need advice. What's their favorite feeder?

Yes, some of those Bird Watcher's Digest feeders are pretty large--

Here's an Opus 20 ounce capacity (not too big)

http://www.birdwatchersdigest.com/site/backyard_birds/hummingbirds/feeder_round_up/feeder2C.aspx

that gets the highest marks for hummingbird use (90 nectar hits per hour) but not good marks for ease of use (for humans) which is a bummer. (90 hits per hour is a lot--I wonder how many birds are in that yard?!). I can't open the pdf file to read the comparison chart, but I bet it's interesting.

Intreresting that the Humzinger which we have and that is so popular with DGers gets low marks for HB popularity (but high marks for ease of use.) http://www.birdwatchersdigest.com/site/backyard_birds/hummingbirds/feeder_round_up/feeder2B.aspx

I wondered about relevance of the number of 'ports' also. I get lots of ruby throateds buzzing around the feeders but only one feeds at a time. Each feeder seems to be guarded by a 'thug' male HB who drives the other off. A riot to watch. Only occassionally are there two or more birds feeding at once. We have 5 feeders each with this activity. Maybe those in southern areas or with other kinds of HBs have a different experience?

Does anyone have multiple feeding HBs as a regular happening?

Yes, we have had as many as 4 HBs on a feeder at the same time. Usually, it is the Rubythroats as they come thru this area on their way south.

According to what I have read (and observed) the male RT HB is very territorial will guard the feeder and forbid other males the use of it (and possibly other families) but will allow his mate and their babies to use it. I wonder if the sitings of multiple RT's at a single feeder may correspond with members of a single family unit. In my yard even the females appear to fight with other females who are not a part of the family. The only time I see multiple HB's at the feeder together is in mid to late summer and early fall when the mother and her growing "babies" may visit at the same time. And even this is rare.

You're going to love the title of this thread, then... check it out... http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/536491/

Our hummers probably spend more time feeding from the flowers here than they do from the feeders... I only put 5-6 oz. of nectar into each of 3 feeders, and generally there is still a little left when I clean and refill them. So I don't need the large capacity feeders either, although that was an interesting comparison to read.

Still looking for a bargain price on a HummZinger... I think the best I've seen so far (on an 8 oz one) was about $13, plus shipping. I'm going to check a few local places to see what they might have on clearance, too. :-)

If you have a Tractor Supply Co., TSC, I picked up a cheaper version of the Hummzinger last year. I do like them, they clean easily and don't hold a large volume. Which is fine here as the heat cooks it too quickly. Have also found a variety at Sutherlands Building Supply in the garden center. I also found a tiny one with one feed station. Easy to fill/ clean and use.

Sorry, this picture didn't make it on the last post, this is the small one designed with a stake for a hanging basket. Right now I have it on an arbor.

I've got a little one like that also! It holds just 1/2 cup of nectar, but either it leaks LOL or the hummers really like it, because it goes empty way before the other ones that I put just a little more into. It's easy to clean with a bottle brush.

I have sat in the swing watching them feed from it. You can actually see the air bubbles work their way to the top as they drink. They do seem to use this one frequently. Perhaps it is because they don't like to share... pod

I've just hung the one at the top of this thread (the one I started with) next to the 8oz. hummzinger on the same quad pole (with a fuschia, which they also like very much). wanted to see which one they go to the most. interesting results today, because we have a new bird today. the first mature male ruby-throat we've seen. so far, we've had so few that we recognize individuals. it's only been 2 days, but so far I think the hummzinger is winning. our regulars still come to the window feeder, too, but not as often as the hummzinger. haven't seen the male at the window feeder yet. of course, all I have to do is keep the window feeder filled and take the others ones down and it makes the window one very popular LOL. (I only do that if I really want to watch them from inside)

gram

If possible, I recommend that you remove the yellow "bee guards". It is those yellow guards that attract the bees and wasps!

Interesting, I did not know that. We haven't had them this year but have been terrible other years.

Will it help for squirrels too? : ) I hung a new ( cheap plastic ) feeder and in a day it was empty. I thought ~ wow, they like that feeder. When I tried to refill it, I found a hole where the squirrel had bit into it. I put a glass one there now. Oddly, I use an assortment of feeders and this is the only one with the guard on it. Why do they call them bee guardss?

Supposedly the bee's proboscis is not long enough to get to the nectar. Well, if you've noticed, they just stick it in the joint where the two parts connect. I used to have a terrible problem. That's why I tried the Best-1 (it was actually made by a company in Poteet, Texas and went by a different name at the time) - guaranteed to not attract bees and wasps! And they were right! They don't have the yellow bee guards! Nor the yellow flower around the feeding hole. And BTW, they don't drip.

I just bought a feeder from Yankee Gardner. It is a mesh tube that fits over a 12 or 16 oz soda bottle. It comes with a dish for the bottom that looks like the other feeders. I figured I'd try one. The ones I have already are all different. I have the glass one in the first post as well as a plastic ball type one. I had a Hummzinger but the small "mote" didn't do the job. It was so small that the water would evaporate (or the birds would drink it) in less than a half day. I found these clear plastic ant guards that I hang above the feeders. They hold about a cup and a half of water so they keep the ants out and some of the other little birds will perch up there and drink it.

On another note, I came home the other day and there was a hummingbird sprawled out on my screened porch. Poor thing was "sitting" on the floor w/ his wings spread out looking so exhausted. I picked him up and it was like holding a bumble bee. I think he must have gotten on the porch and exhausted himself trying to get out. I took him off the porch onto the deck and put him in the shade of one of my planters. He looked like he was trying to fly but couldn't. One of his little feet was clasped close. I don't know if he hit the storm door and stunned himself or what. I picked him up again and he fly up - very unstable like. He kind went up and down and around all the way over a number of houses. I hope he made it.

That has been my second rescue of a hummer in 3 weeks. I had one get in my garage and he wouldn't come down from the ceiling to see the big door was open. I had to get aa net and get him. He was totally exhausted after that ordeal!

Hummers only know "up" when they get into a building. I have once been able to lure one down to a feeder hung in an open door, but other than that one time, I've had to capture them and release them outside. My brother hung a feeder under his patio umbrella once - that did *not* work. The hummers would exhaust themselves trying to go up instead of down and out.

I have had over a dozen different types of feeders over the years. I know from experience that the hummers aren't particular, as long as it has 'nectar' in it. I now know to go for the easiest to clean all the parts. If you can give it a good cleaning then it is a good one! The less yellow the better; the more ports the better. That combination of no yellow, many ports, easy to clean, gives the best effect for all. During the early part of the summer you won't see as many hummers, but once the babies come out things will pick up drastically. That's when the extra ports come into play, allowing more of the family units to feed together. There will *always* be the war games. Its part of the learning process to prepare the young for their adulthood.

Remember, with Rubythroats, many of the ones you see in late summer may actually be males, as the males do not develope the "red" throat until their second summer.

Hummers will return to the area of their birth year after year to nest close to where they were born. However, as the area gets crowded over several years, many of the young will move off to new areas to keep their food supply abundant. You may notice a few years of more and more hummers each summer, then all of a sudden, one summer you will only have one or two pairs. Don't worry - they will increase again over the next few years. It isn't anything you are doing wrong. They just need to spread out once in awhile to clear up the gene pool and take a stress load off the food availibility.

Bottom line - buy inexpensive, *easy* clean feeders and just enjoy their company. Plant flowers where ever you can to suppliment their food (not only nectar, but also small bugs) and you will have not only hummers, but also butterflies to entertain you all summer.
ginni

ginni, that is the most concise, sensible advice i've heard yet. so I have a question for you. do you have any experience with the hummer 'nest box' things you can buy that simulate the fork of a branch that you can put in a protected place to encourage them to nest? is there any point to trying it? I can't imagine what a treat it would be to see the babies.

gram

grampapa - I haven't tried the nesting places yet. I live *way* out in the country in the middle of 70 acres of woods, so nesting places are abundant. I have spotted four in the three years in trees close to the house. I managed to save one nest that I knew they were through with, and it has only a small amount of damage to it. I do know that people have had sucess with the "artificial" starters, but I think they are probably most successful in areas where nesting sights are less abundant than here at my place.

Hummers like to build their nests on the outer ends of lower limbs of big trees. I've found them in Pine, Sweetgum and Redbud. They like to be about 15 to 20 feet off the ground on small limbs. Over the next few years they may return to the same tree and build a limb or two higher up. Bieing out on the ends of the limbs protects the nests from snakes, cats, etc. Failing that type location, they will go to whatever is the next best sight.

Look around your property for a place that will give them safety with a good food supply fairly close. The food needs to include nectar rich flowers, and things that will attract small bugs. You haven't had as good a laugh as you will get when watching a bunch of hummers in a feeding frenzy over a swarm of gnats! You can even attract the gnats by putting out a piece of fruit at the outer edges of your yard. The hummers have to have insects to keep up their protein, for themselves as well as for the babies. Just remember that other 'things' like the fruit as well. Butterflies will find the fruit, but so will wasps and such. Not a problem if its out of the general traffic path.

They also like misting water systems. I have an orchid garden with a misting system and the hummers (and some other types of birds) love flying through it. They get good and wet then go sit on a limb and clean all their feathers. Sprinklers tend to have too much at once for the hummers - they need more mist rather than heavy drops, so that they just get a little at a time.

If you don't have good natural nesting sights around your house then, by all means, try to build them something! It is sort of along the lines on "build it and they will come". If they like it they will use it. The ones that you can buy have been researched, so they should be acceptable to the little darlings if nothing provided by Mother Nature is available.

Please understand, I'm not an expert - this is all based on what has worked for me (and worked *well*, I might add.) If you decide to try one of the 'nest boxes' I would be *very* interested in hearing about your results. Just don't expect everything to happen in one season. With hummers, as with all wildlife, patience is the key.

Just play with it all and enjoy whatever shows up!
ginni

ginni, thanks so much for the advice. so far, so good. thats exactly what I've done. planted what I know they will like, put up the feeders, keep 'em clean and filled, and they come. not in droves, but steady visitors. it doesn't hurt that my next door neightbor also plants for hummers and has feeders.

seems like I always have gnats swarming around my shrubs. but if that's not enough, I'll put out fruit. I love the butterflies, too. and the wasps are here anyway. I have an extruded aluminum fence and they nest inside no matter how much we spray it.

we are in a newer development without a lot of mature trees so there are not a lot of nesting choices. maybe they would benefit from the artificial branch.

I am having so much fun with it. DH loves when they come to the window. He's disabled and can't get out in the yard much. Better than TV!

thanks again
gram

My pleasure. I love sharing experiences, so it has been fun for me. I would definitely try a nesting box since you don't have the larger trees yet. Just don't put them too close together. The little rascals do like their space.

I hope you get some nests where you can watch them next year.
ginni