Yay! My new hummingbird feeder arrived in the mail today. I am replacing an old one that is made of plastic, is really hard to clean, is ugly (the red plastic faded after being outside only a few weeks), and the hummingbirds never really liked it anyway. The new feeder is easy to clean and made of glass. I think they didn't like the old one because since it was plastic, the sugar water would go bad faster.
Here is the old one (Blech):
And here is the Nu feeder (Yay! Hummingbirds rejoice!):
I know they will like the new one because I already have one like it and it is their favorite feeder by far. I have to put feeders on opposite sides of the house to keep the little buggers from fighting with each other so much.
7 comments:
I've never been a fan of the plastic feeders, but everyone I know has great success with them while I struggle with my beautiful art glass feeders. Maybe your clear glass feeder is the answer.
I've had this same glass hummer feeder for four (or more) years. There's plenty of room for your less greedy hummers to feed together and mine look as good as the day I got them.
jane marie,
Yeah, those plastic ones never worked for me. The art glass ones are really pretty, even if the hummers don't use them often, they are still little pieces of art in the garden ;)
Mary Beth,
Yay for glass feeders! I agree. Much better than the yucky plastic ones ;)
Regardless if your hummingbird feeder is glass or plastic, there are some features you should look for when purchasing a hummingbird feeder. These features are listed in no particular order of importance. I hope that these will be of help to anyone wanting to purchase a hummingbird feeder.
1. Look for red in the feeder itself rather than relying on dye to color the sugar solution.
2. Look for a feeder that has built in ant moats. This will help solve the problem of ants being at or in the feeder.
3. Look for a feeder that has bee guards. Look for hummingbird feeders that claim on their packaging that their shape discourages bees from reaching the nectar (usually found with saucer-shaped styles).
4. Look for a feeder with built in perches. This usually will encourage the hummingbird to feed longer.
5. The feeder should be very easy to clean. This is something that will need to be done quite frequently.
If you would like much more information about hummingbirds, please click the link below. The site contains many articles about hummingbirds, video clips about hummingbirds, an informative tips booklet on hummingbirds, and much more.
Click Here To Visit About Hummingbirds
Happy hummingbird watching everyone!
Zoe Ann Hinds
I only use glass hummingbird feeders for my hummies and they love them.
Last month, (April 2008), Canada delcared polycarbonate baby bottles toxic and intends to ban the import and sale on such. This is the same type of plastic that a lot of plasic hummingbird feeders are made of.
According to Matt Ransford of PopSci.com, "BPA has been found to disrupt the processes of the endocrine system in animals,..."
And "Canadian government is poised to declare the chemical as toxic when used in food and water containers because it leeches out into its container’s contents. We’ve all tasted plasticky water after having left a bottle in the car all afternoon—part of that taste is BPA." -Just imagine the toxins that leech from a feeder after sitting in the hot sun for several days in a row.
And finally, "There is concern that its effects may not be limited to endocrine processes, potentially affecting neural pathways as well. Even very small amounts have been shown to change animals’ bodies,..."
I'm not taking any chances on harming these little birds. I'm sticking to the glass feeders!
I have recently come across a really beautiful glass hummingbird feeder made in Texas! The HummerMagnet has really worked out for me and can be found at www.thehummingbirdstore.com.
I love it!
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