Continuing on from the last post (yes it’s been a while), it’s not just seed feeders, as there are a lot of poor-to-middling hummingbird feeders on the market as well, ranging from ‘difficult to clean’ to ‘made of cheap hard plastic which breaks down in the sun.’ Below are some of the feeders we tried and disliked.
I should mention that the last two pics are of the Nectar Dots handheld feeders. These are not bad feeders like the rest, but for our purposes they’re just too small. They’re perfect if you have a small garden or balcony, and you can purchase wand-like holders for them and small children can be immobilized when holding them out in hopes of enticing a real live hummingbird to come slurp up some sugar water.
And on the subject of feeding hummingbirds and Orioles, don’t bother with store-bought red-colored schlock as the dyes are often harmful. Make your own nectar with a 1-to-4 ratio of sugar to water. We make a big jug of the stuff, as it gets used up in just a couple days in the summer when the Orioles are here, and less than a week in colder months when we just need to keep a couple dozen hummers sated. Just refrigerate and use as needed.
Finally, a related bit of guidance for those looking to attract more orioles–you don’t need anything fancier than some store-bought house brand fruit jelly. Grape is what ours prefer, and a heaping tablespoon into one of our feeders gets eaten in about two days. Just don’t let it get moldy.