6 practical Hummingbird feeder tips

Confusing as it is to buy and use a hummingbird feeder for the first time, or if you wish to upgrade to a more practical hummingbird feeder will be clearly spelled out for you.

Hummingbird feeder tips I can give you to get you off the ground running, will be to buy a feeder that has several port wells - plus perches to allow none hovering birds to feed. Utilize a hoop to hang rather than a wire to prevent spinning, whilst a pre-installed ant moat plus bee guard will benefit you later.

My most practical hummingbird feeder tips will take into consideration advice needed for the first timer only.

However I have spelled out helpful tips you can consider when thinking about throwing out or replace an old hummingbird feeder, to a device that offers so many more features you can take full advantage of.

Obviously more port wells the merrier as you'd be well prepared in advance to cater to a couple of hummers for now, yet be well ahead of the game if many more hummers show up later.

What makes a good hummingbird feeder will be perches mounted below each and every port well, to give hummers the option to perch or hover - whilst offering a place for none hovering bird species to rest as they drink the nectar.

Don't worry to much about a length of loose chain or wire to hang when you can simply hook on the loop mounted on top of an hanging hummingbird feeder, over a bracket.

Hummingbird feeders don't have to hang at all as a matter of fact, when a hummingbird feeder can be put on a table top - you can then invite hummers to feed closer to you - so a flat bottom feeder must be prioritized.

Pre-installed on the hummingbird feeder must be an ant moat, yet you can buy an ant moat as an accessory later if you didn't realize it would be needed now.

Similarly, detachable nectar bee guards clipped into the port wells can prevent bees sipping the nectar - whilst reserving its use for the hummingbirds only.

1. More Port Wells the merrier

To be prepared for an uptake in hummingbird usage, why not begin with an hummingbird feeder that is made with several port wells.

You'd be hard pressed buying a one or two port well feeder, yet the top rated hummingbird feeders will always come with a minimum of 4 port wells - in which could go up to 10 wells at the bare maximum.

Port wells are what the hummingbirds poke their bills in to sip nectar; as this is the only area a hummer can feed at, you must open up port wells to to others.

Lack of port wells can lead to hummingbirds fighting over the feeder for dominance at a single, or too few wells made available.

How to stop hummingbirds fighting over the feeder then would require more port wells.

More wells built into the base of a feeder would normally correspond to a larger feeder, plus large capacity sugar water reservoir.

In a not to busy yard the answer to feeding fewer hummingbirds can require just the one feeder, whilst you don't need to worry about how many hummingbird feeders will you need - when the one will do it if its made with several port feeding wells.

2. Perches will benefit other species

How else you'd choose a hummingbird feeder is if it comes with or without a perch, I personally don't feel like it makes much of a difference, only a perch can assist birds other than hummingbirds at the feeder.

My top tip for an hummingbird feeder then would be making sure it utilizes a perch per port well - whereby a perch halo surrounded the feeder is a delightful feature to consider.

Once in a while your common backyard hummingbird will need to rest at times - as they use up all their energy foraging while in hover - or if they've arrived after a long migratory flight come spring time, when hummers arrive in North America.

Perches available on a hummingbird feeder can benefit hummers in a way to simply rest, whilst the hummer ponders over whether to sip nectar or not.

Few hummingbirds will like a perch to feed, particularly if the weather is disturbing the hummers as they feed - or indeed a hummer needs to spend more time sipping at the port well - of which the perch will be mounted directly below the well.

Other than hummers to contend with, which must be your priority when making a hummingbird feeder available, other bird species like to drink the sugar water available.

Chickadees, Sparrows, Woodpeckers, Warblers, Titmouse, and of course nectar-drinking Orioles can be seen to drink nectar at feeders.

Utilize a hummingbird feeder made with a perch then to be sure these none hovering bird species can take advantage of the sugar water, used as a source of energy.

3. Shortest hang length setting

I'd admit not my best tip to offer you but its certainly something to consider when you do hang your hummingbird feeder off a bird feeder pole or bracket.

Hummingbird feeders in a style of an upside down reservoir bottle will be usually made to hang off a single length of wire or chain.

Wire can twist as the feeder is being used thus it can make it awkward for hummingbirds to hover in place, or land on the perch to feed.

With that to consider, do buy an hummingbird feeder that makes use of a hanger or a metal bar with a hook on the end - as it will prevent the feeder spinning around.

Rest assured, there is a technique to prevent your hummingbird feeder spinning around if fixing an additional tied up point - but who has the time for that when the only thing you want to do is feed hummers in your yard.

What my tip for hummingbird feeders implies then is to use a shorten length of rope or chain, or better still buy a hummingbird feeder with only a hoop on the top for hanging.

An additional hanger or length of chain or wire can be bought later if you need to hang the hummingbird feeder at a greater length.

4. Ant moat pre-installed

To own and operate a hummingbird feeder at home can only lead to an insect or bug issue later, as the sugary water can attract nuisance insects, including squirrels.

Anyway, what tip I can offer you this time is to buy what is a pre-installed ant mount on the hummingbird feeder. What keeps ants off an hummingbird feeder is a dish filled up with tap water only - of which the ant moat will be used to drown ants.

Ants stand no chance against an effective ant moat of which its a great solution for your insect problem.

Rather than realizing you have an ant issue at the feeder which can lead to deterring hummers, simply buy a hummingbird feeder with ant moat included. No harm in being prepared, whilst the moat doesn't have to be used if no ants are around.

No shortage of supply either, as some hanging hummingbird feeders have a pre-installed ant moat on top to prevent descending ants - whereby you can utilize an ant moat on a window hummingbird feeder if you had to.

Refer to my best hummingbird feeders with ant moat selection as this will give you an idea what your up against later.

No one is safe from an ant infestation, thus an ant moat already installed on the feeder can save you, and your hummers... trouble down the road.

5. Bee guard included

Whilst I stay on the subject of insects or bug issues on sugar water-filled hummingbird feeders - let's not forget the biggest fan of sugar of all, bumblebees.

Believe it or not you can prevent bees swarming your feeder to begin with, if regularly cleaning spilled nectar on the hummingbird feeder exterior, and so to any nectar that would spill on the ground directly below.

No guarantees in life, thus I recommend you utilize not only an ant moat, but to buy a hummingbird feeder with a bee guard... which installed on each and every port well to stop bees clogging up the wells.

What are the best beef proof hummingbird feeders will often by made available by Perky-Pets - as the company make bee guards interchangeable on their product range.

Nectar bee guards are small yellow devices that clip into the port wells - whereby hummingbird feeders can be bought with them in place - but they are made detachable if not needed, so can be fixed on later.

Gaps between these nectar bee guards can allow the long thin bill of an hummingbird to poke in to sip nectar, whilst a bee is too chunky to reach the nectar at all.

6. Reliable red color feeder body

Final tip I can give your when pondering over how to get a hummingbird feeder right first time out - would be to buy a RED hummingbird feeder.

No particular color can deter or encourage more hummingbirds who use feeders, but the color red is best for an hummingbird feeder, as hummers come to know red represents an abundance of nectar-filled feeders.

To be safe, you must never rely on red food coloring or food dye to change the color of the nectar, as food dye can be unsafe for birds.

What you can buy is a plastic or glass tinted hummingbird feeder - personally I like a red tinted glass hummingbird feeder the best - whilst utilizing contrasting yellow port feeding wells in which hummers can instantly be attracted to.

Red hummingbird feeders can stand-out in a normal backyard environment, whereas a green tinted feeder can blend into its surroundings... which can be hard to spot by passing overhead hummingbirds.

Options can include a tinted orange, purple or even a blue hummingbird feeder, of which hummingbirds will have no issue to sip out of, which is a guarantee.

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