A Guide To Hummingbird Feeders

Hummingbird feeders have traditionally been made by hand for many years. They were typically constructed out of bits and pieces of lab equipment lying around the house such as flasks, bottles, beakers, rubber stoppers, glass tubes and other similar materials. Those early hummingbird feeder creators would no doubt be surprised at just how far the hummingbird-feeding craze has come. What was once a casual interest that only a select few people indulged in has now blossomed into a hobby that has attracted many thousands of devotees all over the world.

As you can imagine, the need for ready-made and mass-produced hummingbird feeders has grown exponentially along with the burgeoning interest, and manufacturers everywhere are only too happy to meet the demand. Today, you can take your pick out of a bewildering array of different designs of hummingbird feeders–from the ornate to the simple–with the majority of them being extremely inexpensive.

Currently, the most popular materials used in the construction of these modern-day hummingbird feeders are glass and plastic. Glass–while being long lasting and easier to sterilize–can be prone to breakage, and there is of course the danger posed by shattering when dropped. Plastic is more durable but it tends to discolor with prolonged exposure to the elements. Whichever material you ultimately decide to go with, be sure to pick a design that is as simple as possible, with no parts that can get damaged or misplaced.

You will notice in the course of shopping for a hummingbird feeder, that many of these will be colored red. Red is thought to attract hummingbirds and it is for this same reason that many people add a bit of red food coloring to the sugar water that they place in the feeder. The red color of the feeder of course makes the adding of food coloring unnecessary and it avoids any potential health risk to the birds.

A common mistake that many people make when starting out is purchasing a feeder that is too large. If the hummingbirds in your area are not yet aware of the presence of your feeder, the sugar water in it will likely turn sour and the first few birds that will be attracted to it will not be inclined to come back.

A final tip on hummingbird feeders: make sure that you place it where you can enjoy the sight of birds feeding. Remember, hummingbirds can exist quite happily without any help from us, so the presence of a feeder is really for our own benefit!