What Features Make the Best Hummingbird Feeders?

Interestingly, the feeders that hummingbirds are most attracted to happen to be the same inexpensive feeders that are sold everywhere.

They’re popular with the birds for a couple of very specific reasons: 1.) there are so many of these feeders sold that the birds recognize them, and 2.) they have a particular set of features that the birds can’t resist.

The Most Important Feature is Color.

A great feeder needs to have a good deal of bright red and yellow in it’s design.

The above inexpensive feeder is one of the most popular with hummingbirds. It can be found in almost any store with a gardening department as well as online.

This specific feeder is such a hit with hummers is due to a couple of things I mentioned above – not only is it bright red with yellow, but it’s also in tens of thousands of yards around the world – the birds actually remember it as a source of food. And yes, they will return to the same yards year after year.

Your odds of attracting them are much higher when they that see their favorite restaurant is in your yard. I have one and it’s always busy. Here’s a link for them on Amazon if you’re interested – Click here.

Note: DO NOT use red dye in any of their food.

Red dye isn’t healthy for the birds, whether it’s purchased at the store or made at home, and it isn’t necessary.

See our companion article “A Simple Hummingbird Food Recipe” for a super easy food recipe that you can make in minutes using just two ingredients.

These little guys deserve the good stuff – not fake red stuff.  Red in the feeder design is enough to attract the hummingbirds. Anyway….

Other Key Features of a Great Feeder:

• It should have a thick glass bottle for the food.A glass bottle won’t disperse BPA’s into their food source like some plastics will, especially when it gets hot in the summer sun. If the packaging states that the plastic in the product is “BPA Free”  then it’s ok to use.  BPA stands for Bisphenol A, which is an industrial chemical that has been used to make certain plastics and resins since the 1950s. For more information on BPA’s, click here for the Mayo Clinic’s article about this substance.
• A great feeder will include little “resting bars” at each flower.Hummingbirds need breaks from all that zipping around and a nice place to do that is when they’re at a feeder.   I prefer the plastic “resting bars” over metal because they don’t get as hot in the mid-day sun as metal ones do.
• It also needs to easily be taken apart and cleaned regularly. Cleaning is super important to keep harmful mold and bacteria from building up which can make them sick.

A Few Words about Cleaning The Feeders

As mentioned above, you need to thoroughly clean the feeder to prevent mold and bacterial growth. You’ll see the mold because it’s black – ewww.

Take it completely apart and clean it at least once every 2 weeks.

1. Use a mild dish soap and water to clean the bottle and all the parts. Many feeders will come with small brushes but if they don’t, here’s a tip: I clean and recycle my old mascara brushes because they fit perfectly into the small feeder holes.
2. Next, use a large bottle-brush and dish soap to clean the glass bottle that holds the food.
3. Rinse thoroughly to remove any remaining soap residue, reassemble, fill, and hang on garden hook, or on a tree.

Bottom Line

There are so many cool feeders out there that it can be hard to choose.

The most important things to keep in mind are:

• The color – prominent red and yellow
• The material it’s made of – using glass for the food holder, or BPA-free plastic,
• And little resting bars for them to sit on while feeding.

For a Simple Hummingbird Food Recipe

Check out our companion article “A Simple Hummingbird Food Recipe” that you can make at home in minutes.