Feeding Hummingbirds

Many of us love to feed hummingbirds.  I think they are a blast to watch and my wife and I have been feeding them for many years,  just as many of you have also been doing.  One of these days in the near future I want to write about my bird feeders and include some pictures but today I think I will write a little refresher about what we need to keep in mind when we are feeding these amazing aeronautical acrobats.  I will include some Do's and some Dont's that I feel strongly about and maybe you will disagree with some of them but I ask that you do please consider each of the points I will mention.

Hummingbird Feeders:
 1. Should be easy to clean.  Hummingbird feeders are very susceptible to mold and bacteria that are harmful and even deadly to hummers.  If your feeder does not come completely apart so that you can easily every nook and cranny of the nectar chamber you may be prone to overlook some of these organisms which can possibly result in the death of some of our feathered friends.  If your feeder is not very easy to completely and thoroughly clean then you may want to consider a new feeder.
 2. Should provide a perch.  This is much more important than you would think.  A hummer's rate of metabolism is fantastically high and in order to survive it must consume up to one and a half times it's body weight in food daily just to survive.  A hummingbird rests every chance it gets because it's body has to work so very hard just to keep up when it is in flight and it needs every bit of rest it can get.  The hummingbird heart rate can vary from about 250 beats per minute, when the hummingbird is resting, to about 1200 beats per minute when the hummingbird is feeding.  This difference is HUGE.  It is a fantastic advantage for the hummer is he/she can rest while feeding.  I love my hummers and I always provide a feeder with a perch for it.  Some perches are better than others but I will talk about that on another day.
 3. A feeder should have a Sun/Rain Protector.  Most hummingbird feeders do not have a dome to help shade it from the sun and to keep the rain off of it.  The result is that the nectar gets hot from the onslaught of the mid-day sun and the hummers find it very unpleasant to drink.  Not only is this a nuisance but it is also dangerous because we all learned in science class that bacteria grows faster in warm water than it does in cool water.  And you can bet, regardless of how meticulous you are about cleaning your feeder, you have bacteria in your nectar.  It is simply unavoidable.  Even if you boil your nectar before placing it in the feeder there will be some airborne bacteria that gets into the nectar via the feeding holes or from the beaks of the hummers.  A hummingbird feeder is like a petri dish and is an ideal breeding ground for bacteria.  The best thing we can do is to minimize the bacteria and keep the liquid as cool as possible by offering it some shade.  A good tree or bush works well but if you do not have a shady place for your feeder you should purchace a nice red-colored dome to hang over it.  It will also help to attract more birds to your feeder.  Manufacturers do not design feeders to have a built-in dome because this would raise the price significantly and they would sell fewer of their product.  That certainly should not surprise us.  Their motivation is money, not hummingbird safety.
  4. Do not use red-coloring or red-colored nectar!  The red dye in hummingbird nectar is harmful to animals and serves absolutely no useful purpose other than maybe making your nectar more attractive to YOUR eye at the expense of the hummingbird's health.  There are other reasons but if this one reason is not enough for you I would ask that you please refrain from feeding our beautiful hummingbirds.  Manufacturers sell the red nectar mix so that you will not be aware that you are paying a big price for a very small bag of sugar.  Hummingbirds do fantastic on nectar made from 1 part table sugar and 4 parts water.  Remember, these measurements should apply to the water AFTER it is boiled.  If, after boiling the sugar with the water, you find that you have less than 4 cups of nectar you will need to add additional water to replace the water that was lost due to evaporation during boiling.
 5. Ant Moats keep those pesky ants off of the feeder and out of the nectar.  A hummingbird will not eat from a feeder that is covered with ants.  Many of the ants drown and comtaminate the nectar which is also very harmful to the hummers.  Ant moats are cheap.  Get one.
 5. Nectar Guards to ward off insects will keep bees and yellow jackets out of the feeder.  A nectar guard is simply a synthetic cap that slips over the bottom of the tube the hummer sticks his beak into when drinking the nectar.  Nectar Guards have slits that the hummers can push their bill through to feed but the insects are blocked and can not enter into the nectar chamber.  Your nectar will stay much cleaner if you use nectar guards.  They are about $5/pack.  Not all feeders accept nectar guards.
 7. A good hummingbird feeder should not leak or drip nectar on to the ground.  This only attracts insects that you do not want around your feeder.  Avoid feeders that leak or drip.

Thanks for being patient and reading my thoughts on feeding hummers.  I have much more that I want to write about concerning hummingbirds and other birds in our back yard but I will save that for another day.  I also make and sell domes and ant moats on eBay but I am not trying to sell anything on this site.  I am only trying to raise awareness so that we can keep our hummers healthy.  Thank you for your patience.