Hummingbird Feeders

How to read the hummingbird feeder list

Every hummingbird feeder in our data is in the table above, sorted from the smallest stated nectar capacity to the largest. The list starts with a 2.3-ounce planter-style feeder and climbs from there through 3, 4, 6, 8, 10 and 12 ounces and up.

Each column comes from the maker or the Amazon listing. Capacity, port count, reservoir material, mount, a built-in ant moat, bee guards, a leak-resistant claim and a wide mouth for cleaning all show up only when a listing states them. A dash means nobody said. It doesn't mean no.

The list also includes a few oriole feeders, because makers and listings group them with hummingbird feeders. They hold jelly or fruit as well as nectar, and our table flags them. If you only want hummingbirds, skip anything marked as an oriole feeder.

Field note: when a listing gives two capacities that don't agree, our data keeps the one the maker confirms, or leaves the cell empty. I would rather show a dash than a guess.

Start with nectar capacity

Capacity is the first thing to decide, and it's the one people get backward.

A bigger hummingbird feeder isn't a better one. Sugar water spoils. Audubon's advice is to clean a feeder every day or every other day in hot weather, every three days in mild weather and twice a week when it's cool. The National Zoo says to clean it thoroughly every time you refill it. Whatever you don't drink by cleaning day gets poured out.

Here's my one opinion on this page, and the reason you can check: buy the capacity your birds can finish between cleanings, not the biggest one on the shelf. Penn State Extension says to choose a feeder that holds enough nectar for three to four days. That's the right yardstick. A 32-ounce feeder with two birds visiting is mostly a schedule for pouring sugar water on the lawn.

Small hummingbird feeders

Small feeders in our data run from 2.3 to about 6 ounces. That's the range for early spring, a first feeder, a window mount or a yard that sees one bird at a time. The list includes a 3-ounce Perky-Pet with one port and a bee guard, 4-ounce Aspects HummBlossom models and a 6-ounce Nature's Way glass jar with four ports and a wide mouth.

Mid-size feeders, 8 to 12 ounces

This is the busy middle of the list. Most of the 8-ounce feeders have three to five ports, and several add a built-in ant moat. The Perky-Pet 203CPBN is an 8-ounce glass feeder whose listing states an ant moat, bee guards and a wide mouth. The Aspects HummZinger HighView 429 holds 12 ounces with four ports.

Large hummingbird feeders

Large feeders in our data start around 16 ounces and run through 24, 32, 40 and 48 ounces, and the largest listing reaches 80. They belong in yards where several birds visit at once, usually later in summer. If you can't finish one in three or four days, fill it halfway. Nobody checks.

Pick the mount: hanging, window or stake

The mount decides where the feeder can go, and where it goes decides whether you'll actually see the birds.

• Hanging. The most common mount. A hook, a branch, an eave or a shepherd's hook. A hanging hummingbird feeder moves in the wind, so a short hook beats a long chain on a breezy porch.
• Window, with suction cups. Puts the bird a few feet from your chair. The window feeders in our data run from 3 to about 13 ounces, which suits a smaller crowd.
• Pole or stake. Pushes into a flower bed or a pot. The Audubon NA35248 garden stake holds 3 ounces with two ports.

Audubon suggests hanging feeders in a less breezy spot, because wind makes them drip, and drips bring insects. On our porch the breezy side is also where the chimes are. Dell considers that a second reason.

Penn State Extension adds a placement tip: if cats roam outdoors, put feeders in the open and high enough to be out of a cat's reach. Our guide on where to hang a hummingbird feeder covers windows, shade and spacing.

Make sure it comes apart for cleaning

An easy to clean hummingbird feeder is one you can take all the way apart without tools and reach every surface with a brush. Penn State Extension says to remove the plastic flowers and scrub inside them with a small brush. If the flowers don't come off, that step doesn't happen.

Three things on a listing tell you most of what you need.

Wide mouth or a top fill

A wide mouth hummingbird feeder has a reservoir opening big enough for a bottle brush or your fingers. Several listings in our data state a wide mouth, including the Kingsyard 10-ounce glass two-pack and the Perky-Pet Pinch-Waist. A top fill design, such as the Perky-Pet Cactus Top-Fill, opens from above, so you can fill it without flipping the reservoir. Either one makes the weekly scrub shorter, and a shorter scrub is a scrub that gets done.

Count the parts

Dell's take, after reading three feeder manuals with me at the kitchen table: "Count the parts before you buy it. Every part is one more thing to wash and one more thing to lose under the porch." He's not wrong. A simple saucer with a lid and a base may be two or three pieces. Some bottle feeders with flowers, bee guards and a separate moat run to eight or nine.

Leak-proof is a claim

Leak proof and leak-resistant are listing claims, and our table shows them only when the listing makes them. Audubon notes that wind and loose assembly cause drips. Check that the seal is tight every time you refill, whatever the box says.

Glass, plastic, metal or ceramic

The reservoir material is mostly about handling and looks. The birds drink the same nectar either way.

• Glass. Heavier, doesn't scratch, and shows the nectar level clearly. It can break if it slips out of a wet hand. Glass feeders in our data run from 6 ounces up to 40.
• Plastic. Lighter on a hook, easier on a window's suction cups, and forgiving when dropped. Most window feeders in the list are plastic.
• Metal and copper. Usually the base, cap or hanger rather than the reservoir. A copper hummingbird feeder may be copper-colored metal, so read the listing's material line.
• Ceramic. Opaque, so you can't see the nectar level. Plan on checking it by lifting it.

Antique, vintage and wine bottle hummingbird feeders are mostly styles. A wine bottle feeder turns your own bottle into the reservoir, so its capacity is whatever bottle you use. The cleaning question is the same: can a brush reach the bottom?

A solar hummingbird feeder usually means a feeder with a small solar light on it. The light is a decoration. The feeder part still needs the same schedule.

Ant moats and bee guards

A hummingbird feeder outdoors gets visitors with more than two legs. Audubon writes about two.

• Ants. Ants climb down the hanger into the ports and can clog them. A built-in ant moat is a small cup of water above the feeder that ants can't cross. Many listings in our data state a built-in moat, from the 8-ounce Aspects models to the 10-ounce More Birds Ruby. If yours doesn't have one, an add-on hummingbird feeder ant moat hangs above it.
• Bees and wasps. Bee guards are small grids over the ports that let a hummingbird's bill through and keep insects out. Audubon adds that guards don't replace cleaning, and that yellow parts on a feeder can draw bees.

Saucer hummingbird feeders hold the nectar in a shallow dish under the ports. Our guide on how to keep bees out of a hummingbird feeder has the rest.

Field note: the bees in our yard work the feeder with a librarian's dedication. I just wish they'd sign in.

Nectar: plain sugar water, no dye

The nectar matters more than the feeder. Every source I opened agrees on the recipe: one part refined white sugar to four parts water. The Smithsonian's National Zoo says boiling isn't required as long as the sugar fully dissolves; Audubon and Penn State say to boil the water first and let it cool. Both ways work. Store extra in the refrigerator for no more than a week.

Don't add red dye. The National Zoo says it isn't needed and could harm the birds. Never use honey, brown sugar or artificial sweetener; Penn State warns that honey can ferment and grow a fungus that's fatal to hummingbirds. The red on the feeder itself is enough to get their attention.

Penn State also says weaker mixes draw fewer birds and stronger mixes may harm them. Measure. I keep a measuring cup with the feeder brush so neither one wanders off. (Dell borrowed the brush once, for a reason he declined to put in writing.)

For ready-made mixes, the hummingbird nectar page lists what's on Amazon, with ingredients as the listing gives them.

How many feeders, and how far apart

Hummingbirds are territorial. Penn State Extension says that if several birds fight over one feeder, put up a second one away from the first. It doesn't give a distance, and I won't make one up. Out of sight of each other is a fair goal, like two reading tables on opposite sides of the room.

Two smaller feeders also solve the capacity problem. You get more ports in the yard without a big reservoir going sour before the birds finish it.

Who doesn't need a new feeder

If you already have a feeder that comes apart and doesn't drip, you don't need another one. A new brush and a fresh batch of nectar will do more for the birds than a new reservoir.

If you can't keep up with cleaning every few days in summer, wait. A fresh flower bed of red, tubular flowers feeds hummingbirds without a schedule. Penn State lists bee balm, cardinal flower and trumpet honeysuckle among its suggestions.

Where to go next

The best hummingbird feeders list narrows this table down by a stated rule. The guides to cleaning a hummingbird feeder and when to put out hummingbird feeders cover the routine. If you're shopping for someone else, gifts for hummingbird lovers starts from this list.

Buy small, clean often, and keep the brush where you can find it. Happy watching.