new hummingbird feeders

Hummingbird feeders are some of the worst ripoffs of consumer goods. Most are very poorly design and made. The prices for one of this cheap plastic thing that cost may be $0.30 sold for 50 folds. I never want to pay over $5 each. The secret is to way for autumn when the stores are making room for Christmas merchandise.


I was not in the market for hummingbird feeder if not because of an accident. I was doing yard cleaning and being careless I knocked one off the hanging hook. It landed hard and both the base and the reservoir broke. The plastic became brittle from UV exposure. While I was at a store I checked to see if there are any on discount. I just want one as small as possible. The reason I prefer small feeder is to have many feeders place in different spots of my property. Hummingbirds are extremely territorial. The strongest male often get to feed on the nectar and he will drive away male and female birds aggressively. The only bird that he would tolerate is the female that he courts, and that is only during when he is mating with her.

To increase the chance the weaker birds, especially the female also get to taste the nectar I strategically place the feeders not in direct sight line of one another. The old feeders that I have has a design problem. While they intend you to fill the clear reservoir with nectar (just 25% sugar to water ratio by volume) the nectar tends to drip onto the ground below. This is cause by the air in the reservoir expand and contract due to ambient temperature fluctuation. Because of this problem, I defected the reservoir by drilling a breather hole on the top to prevent it from sucking the pool of nectar into the reservoir. This also mean I cannot use the reservoir and have to frequently refill the feeders. I would found out how much nectar a hummingbird can consume in a day when they are actively hunting for insects.

this is one of my $3.99 feeder - hummingbird slow motions


Luck was on my side when I was in one discount store. I saw these compact headers for $4.99 not marked as discounted. I pick one up and headed home. It is unusual in that it it not constructed out of mostly yellow or red parts. Only the 5 tiny inserts of the feeding holes are made of red plastic. The reason most feeders are in the gaudy bight red and yellow is humming bird keys onto bright flower colors to find nectar. I was concern that the small size of the red plastic being enough for them to see. This was the reason I only bought one.

As I dismantle the feeder to wash before filling with nectar I saw the construction. It is rather well designed to solve the proverbial cleaning problem associates with most feeders. All the plastic parts are well made and the bottom assembly consists of two halves for ease of cleaning. Unlike my old cheap feeder the nectar does not seep out of the "flower" as the built-in platform raised platform that regulates the auto-refill from the reservoir limits the filled level of the bottom tray.

I was concern juvenile birds may not be able to reach the nectar. I carefully observe the feeding that afternoon. Sure enough the smaller birds showed hesitation to find the new feeder. Some went to my other old feeder. But then as time pass I notice the smaller birds also adapt to the new feeder. They just have to aim their beaks more vertical as the holes of the new feeder is tighter to combat attracting unwanted insects like wasps. Clearly the diminished amount of red on this feeder is not a problem. It is one of the best looking feeder I have ever come across and the price is right. Checking the receipt I realized there is $1 discount.

the new feeder

designed for easy cleaning

the raised platform that regulate the fill height of the bottom tray

designed in USA

Once I know this is a good feeder I went back to the store and cleaned out their stock. There were only 4 left. I bought that many because I want some for spares.

My leaky old feeders attract a lot of wasps and often the hummingbirds have to avoid them when feeding. This new feeder does not have the problem. The hummingbird feeds by extending the very long tongue to lap up the nectar that is deep down inside the hole. This feeder does force them to insert their beak deep and vertical.

you can see the very shallow level of the nectar in side the transparent bottom tray

Having observing these lovely birds for many years now I would prefer a feeder where they can perch while feeding. I have saw many time the young and weak struggle to rest their feet on the little plastic flow petal while it feeds. They need this feature the most during winter storm. While the new feeder has no foot rest the silver petal extends out quite far. I might cement some homemade footrests.