Feeding Your Hummingbird Part II

Dani a Follower left a comment in my first post on Hummingbirds that she has feeders but to no avail they leak and can you make bird feeders leak proof ?

Well Dani ...3 years ago when we started putting out a variety of Feeders ..We ended up running into the same issue. We even had the issue that the hummers just wouldn't feed from some of the ones we put out ...it was as though they favored others.

Sad to say but we bought some of the Beautiful Blown glass styles and our hummers wouldn't feed from them ..So we retired them and kept out the ones we saw the hummers frequenting more.

As of leaking yes we had our share of leaking and I found out that this is a common problem. Not that any of the feeders are faulty ..but it's all science ! Which I will explain in just a moment.

The two feeders below are the ones we use currently ...the lighthouse is my favorite and we picked it up a couple years ago at the Armstrong Garden Center.

Then the second one ..is decorative ..and the design works well ..I believe we picked this one up at lowes a few years back ..for whatever reason ..our little hummers really prefer these 2 ..and let me tell you we had about 10 before we got down to these 2.

Now as for leaking it's all about the sun the heat and pressure.

It's always best to fill your feeder brimming full ...to start with so no trapped air gets inside and pressurizes the fluid to begin leaking.

Also if like me you keep your feeders ..out in an unshaded spot ..Well the sun beats down on them ..and air pressure builds up in the feeder and they begin to leak.

Here's a couple sites that may explain it better than me for you

click here

or

Click Here

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Also Choosing the Right feeder for the amount of birds your get is important too

Read Here

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Well ...I hope this helps Dani in your quest to feed the hummingbirds ...and anyone else who may be facing the same issure or have faced it and given up.

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Have you ever observed a humming-bird moving about in an aerial dance among the flowers - a living prismatic gem.... it is a creature of such fairy-like loveliness as to mock all description. ~W.H. Hudson, Green Mansions

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Your Kindred Friend ..Sara

Feeding your Hummingbirds ...

I was just thinking today as I was looking at some beautiful pictures of hummingbirds posted in our KSGP group today ...that I wonder how many people actually know that they can make their own humming bird food. I always assume that if I know a tidbit of information that everyone else knows it too ...and find that many times people don't know tips and tricks as much as I think the do.

I think many people just assume that when they see those little packages of red dye feed at the store that there must be something special in it that attracts the birds that they can't get any other way ...So NOT true.

You are basically looking at a sugar contents with red dye in it. The red dye is said to attract the birds to feeder ...which is true but not necessary for attracting them ..however the red dye has come under controversy as to it being harmful or not to the birds and many Bird specialists will tell you to aire on the side of caution and not put out nectar with red coloring ...interested on why ...

click here

For 3 years now we have had several hummingbird feeders in our backyard and have made our own nectar for them. We have several hummingbirds that frequent our yard throughout the day ...

Our Feeders are hung out in the open from the rafters on our porch...but there is plenty of foliage throughout the yard perimeter for them to retreat to if in harms way. That is a very important key for hummingbirds.

Creating your own nectar is Very Simple and Very Cost effective ...Virtually costing you but pennies to make it and not but a few minutes of your time. This a Great tool to teach your children or grandchildren as well .

So here is the Recipe:

1 cup of sugar to 4 cups of water

Bring the 4 cups of water to a boil then add the sugar ..I find stirring it while I add it helps it dissolve in the water quicker.

Then Let cool "completely" to room temperature.

Then fill your feeders with this sweet nectar ..Now if you have extra or just want to make extra put it in a jar and place it in your frig. and replace the nectar in the feeders every couple of weeks in cooler weather and at least once a week in hot weather.

Cleaning the feeder is important too ..Here is the National Audubon's solution for cleaning the feeder:

You will need to clean your feeder about once a week. According to the National Audubon Society, this should be done by rinsing with one part white vinegar to four parts water. If the feeder is dirty, try adding a few grains of dry rice to the vinegar solution to help scrub it clean. Follow the vinegar wash by rinsing three times with clear, warm water before refilling with sugar solution.

Isn't this picture Wonderful ..I picked this up off google ...but I know it to be true ..Hummingbirds will feed right from your hands. If you want to learn more about hummingbirds just Google ...hummingbirds ..and there is a plethora of information out there that will keep your mind tickled for hours on end.

Your Kindred Friend ...Sara