Hummingbird feeder

[A-37]

It's more a clover bee feeder than a hummingbird feeder. Tried some peppermint oil on the feeder but it doesn't work. Any suggestions?

One of the feeders has a solar panel roof and video camera. Also has a siren to scare off unwanted birds.

 

[lihpster]

What nectar are you using?

 

[A-37]

Using sugar water with red coloring.

 

[lihpster]

4 to 1 ratio? I have had some commercial stuff that was a 10% concentration. They wouldn't touch it. Made my own at the 20% and they couldn't get enough.

 

[creeksidewilly]

We do the 4 to 1 and we don't bother with food coloring, but the feeders are colorful.

 

[Faulkner]

The red coloring does not help, it's a marketing gimmick. I mix up a pitcher of 4 to 1 sugar water in the evening and put in the fridge overnight and then fill up the feeders in the morning. Once the daytime temps get above 80 to 85 degrees you have to rinse out the feeder and change the nectar daily.

I have found the hotter it gets they prefer a feeder they can perch on while they feed. I have feeders they can perch on and a couple that don't have perches. In the cool of the morning they'll feed off both types, but once temps get to 90 and above they go directly the feeders with perches and seldom visit the other ones. I don't buy feeders without a perch any longer.

 

[madmikeb]

We do 3:1 with no dye. Use distilled water and keep it in the fridge. I bring the feeder in every night, clean it and put fresh nectar in when I put it out in the morning. We had birds all winter and in the fall we run 3 feeders and will go through close to a gallon of nectar a day.

 

[KevinNEPA]

Plus one on the four parts water to one part table sugar. They also seem to like feeders they can land on. Saw a YouTube video where the slightly eccentric lady suggested making loops with wire ties from bread bags on the dollar store feeders... Tried it and it actually works. The one problem I have is that the feeders seem to gunk up with some kind of black mold or something. Only fix seems to be scrubbing the stuff off when putting in fresh water.

 

[GnarlsR2]

I’ve been feeding hummingbirds here in Arizona for over 25 years continuing all year long.

I am not an expert with hummingbirds. My experience is different from others.

Red dye is toxic. Don’t put anything but sugar in the water.

I have three glass feeders - two in the backyard and one in the front yard. The feeders hold 1 cup of filtered water to ¼ cup of sugar. Not distilled water – not healthy for birds or humans for drinking.

The glass bottles and plastic parts are thoroughly cleaned with dish soap and rinsed extremely well. The hummers will typically drink a feeder down to about ¼ left in about 3 or 4 days and I will clean and refill them before they go empty.

In the winter or cold months hummers will go into a form of hibernation sleep at night called torpor. When they wake up at early light they need to drink right away. If they are being fed by a feeder and they cannot get to liquid to drink they can die rather quickly. I have saved two hummers that could not fly when I picked them up. So, once you commit to feeding them, you have to be very diligent about keeping their feeder filled with sugar water, especially in very cold weather.

In the warmer months, I leave the feeders out. In the cold and winter months anything below 50d F, I will bring them in to room temperature, not the refrigerator, after dark. I put them back out before dawn. Yeah… it’s a pain in the butt.

I heat up 1 cup of water in a glass measuring cup in the microwave for 50 seconds, then mix the sugar until completely dissolved.

I have one feeder with no perches for the birds that do not like to land while drinking.

These are the only ones I have used for over 25 years. You have to be very careful not to overtighten the plastic top or the feeders. I remove the plastic flower. One feeder I cut off the perches. I only buy the ones that have glass bottles, not plastic.

https://a.co/d/hPi5ZZd

Regarding the honeybees… I experienced one year where the bees landed on the feeders during certain hours of the day. I tried to discourage the bees by spraying water from a spray bottle, but it did not work. Eventually, after about a month, the bees quit landing on the feeders.

Here in AZ the sparrows will attempt to drink from the feeders and Redhead Woodpeckers will hang from the bottom and drink. We chase the peckers away, but let the sparrows try to drink.

 

[STCM(SW)]

I use 4-1 also but only a cup and no coloring....
Birds don't even note the difference...

 

[madmikeb]

Looked into distilled water for hummingbird feeders as per GnarlsR2, learned something! Said that it won't really hurt them but its not ideal, lacks minerals that they get from tap or spring water. Guess I need to change my procedure!

Thanks for the info!

 

[Greyman50]

This was one of 2 feeders we had. Never got a pic of more than 1 as they are very territorial here. This one would sit on a limb above the feeder and attack any others that tried to drink.

 

[GnarlsR2]

This was one of 2 feeders we had. Never got a pic of more than 1 as they are very territorial here. This one would sit on a limb above the feeder and attack any others that tried to drink.

Yes, they are territorial. We have a very selfish male hummer that sits on a hanging bird decoration and will chase any hummer away from the feeders. It's very annoying to watch. We put a feeder in the front patio. He can't see both at the same time. When a dozen or so hummers come to feed at the same time, the selfish hummer is too overwhelmed to chase them all away.

My sister lives on 5 acres with lots of trees in CA. She's been feeding hummers for over 40 years. She has a dozen feeders and I've seen 20 or 30 hummers feeding at the same time. That many flying at the same time makes a distinct buzzing sound. They know her and if a feeder goes empty they will fly to her kitchen window at her sink and literally peck on the window to get her attention. She has photos of 3 or 4 hummers landing on her head, shoulders, and hands. Animal nature is amazing.

 

[Alton]

I fill our two feeder every two days since the adults have moved on. We have a bunch of juveniles this year. Early in the season I was sometimes filling them twice a day. This has been our best year ever for Humming Birds

 

[gwpercle]

All you can do is put the feeders up ...

If the hummers are around they will find it .

Here (Louisiana) they migrate and are not around all year ...
Be sure they are in town ...
It might take them a couple weeks to find a new feeder .
Keep the Nectar fresh and they will find it and pass the word to the other's .
Gary

 

[GnarlsR2]

All you can do is put the feeders up ...

If the hummers are around they will find it .

Here (Louisiana) they migrate and are not around all year ...
Be sure they are in town ...
It might take them a couple weeks to find a new feeder .
Keep the Nectar fresh and they will find it and pass the word to the other's .
Gary

When I put a new feeder in the front patio, it took only 2 hours for me to see hummers feeding.

 

[LVSteve]

I do the 4 to 1 mix with no coloring. I use the water from the Brita pitcher and I nuke it in the microwave for just over 3 minutes. This ensures that any residual chlorine in the water is boiled off. For sure you need to clean the feeders more often in the summer.

We have the very territorial Anna's Hummingbird here, and sometimes I'll put another feeder on the side of the house where Mr Butthead cannot see it. This gives the Black-Chinned and the Costa's a chance to feed. Mind you, if a Rufous comes calling, EVERYTHING smaller than the big Grackles gets chased out of the yard. I call them the Ruthless Hummingbird.

 

[madmikeb]

Fall was when we had the most activity. I had never seen so many! In Maine we were lucky if we saw more then a couple at a time.

All 3 feeders we had running would look like this all day long.

 

[Kenna]

Have a feeder in Wi. We couldnt figure out why it was empty ever morning. Eating dinner about dusk and Mr Racoon hopes up on deck rail stretches out fully and guzzles it down like a beer. We moved it.