Hummingbird Feeders: Where to Place Them and Why it Matters
|
|
Time to read 7 min
Hummingbirds capture the imagination in a way few other birds do. With their diminutive proportions, darting flight, and brilliant iridescence, they look like escapees from fairyland. Who wouldn’t want to attract these other-worldly creatures to their yard? Hummingbird feeders can help you do that.
Where you place hummingbird feeders plays a major role in whether birds visit, and whether they stay safe. Feeder placement affects nectar freshness, predator risk, window collisions, and how easily you can watch hummingbirds up close.
This article explains the best places to hang hummingbird feeders, how to balance safety with visibility, and what to consider when choosing locations around your home. As a bonus, it answers some frequently asked questions.
Table of Contents
Why Hummingbird Feeder Placement Matters
Thoughtful feeder placement helps protect hummingbirds from predators and window collisions while giving you a great view.
As with bird feeders in general, hummingbird feeders bring responsibility. By drawing hummingbirds to an artificial food source, you’re potentially putting them at risk from predators, window strikes and poisoning. When it comes to feeder placement, the well-being of the birds is always the most important consideration.
At the same time, you understandably want the best possible looks at the hummingbirds that visit your feeder. That calls for a location you can see easily from a window or porch.
Fortunately, it’s not hard to place feeders in ways that are both safe for the birds and enjoyable for you.
How to Place Your Feeder(s)
Key considerations include ease of access, sun vs. shade, distance from windows, availability of cover, feeder height, exposure to predators, and patterns of human activity around your home.
Ease of access
Since you’ll be cleaning and refilling your feeders frequently, it’s important to place them where they’re easily accessible. We don’t say “frequently” lightly: to keep nectar from going bad, hummingbird feeders should be emptied completely and cleaned thoroughly at least once a week. That’s in cool temperatures . . . when the weather is hot, meaning temps in the 80s or higher, you’ll need to clean them every day or two. Hanging feeders too high or placing them in an out-of-the-way location makes it easy to neglect this essential chore. Don’t!
Sun vs. shade
Heat encourages fermentation and the growth of mold and bacteria, so it’s best not to place feeders where the sun is most intense. The ideal location is in partial shade, or an area that receives sun in the cool of the morning and shade in the heat of the afternoon.
Distance from windows
Placing hummingbird feeders very close to windows—or more than 30 feet away—can help reduce dangerous window collisions.
Hummingbirds have excellent vision, but they don’t understand the concept of glass. They also tend to mistake reflections of trees and sky for the real thing. To prevent potentially fatal window strikes, place your feeders either very close to your windows (within three feet) or at a significant distance (more than 30 feet). The first option keeps hummingbirds from building up too much speed as they fly to and from the feeder. Not only is this safer for them, it lets you enjoy close-up views. The second option can be ideal for second (or third or fourth) feeders, creating multiple centers of activity.
Even with proper feeder placement, more hummingbirds in your yard means more chances of window strikes. You can reduce the danger by hanging streamers or cords outside your windows or applying bird-safe window film to the glass.
Availability of cover
Placing feeders around shrubs and small trees gives hummingbirds a place to retreat and rest. But when it comes to cover, more isn’t better. Feeders should not be placed in or near dense foliage where predators can lurk unseen. The birds need unobstructed flight paths, and you want clear views of them.
Feeder height
A height of four to six feet is optimal. Place your feeder too low – less than four feet from the ground or the ledge of your porch – and a cat can jump up to grab a hummingbird as it feeds. Place it too high – much above six feet – and you make the frequent cleaning and refilling you’ve committed to more difficult. In addition, feeders hung too high tend to sway in the wind, discouraging hummingbirds from using them.
Predator exposure
Outdoor cats are a major predator of small birds, including hummingbirds, making feeder placement away from cover especially important.
Outdoor cats are hummingbirds’ most dangerous predators by far. You can reduce the danger by hanging your feeders at an appropriate height and not placing them close to feline hideouts. If you notice cats stalking your visitors, you may need to take your feeders down. Keep an eye out for other, less common predators as well. Hummingbirds are too small and agile to attract the attention of most raptors, but smaller hawks and falcons will sometimes take them opportunistically. To discourage this, avoid placing hummingbird feeders near seed or suet feeders, which are often staked out by birds of prey. In the desert Southwest, where roadrunners are occasional hummingbird predators, hanging your feeders at an appropriate height and placing them away from dense cover will minimize the danger. One surprising predator is the praying mantis — especially larger, non-native species introduced to control garden pests. Should you notice one on or near your feeder, remove it gently and put it in another location.
Human activity
For best results, avoid placing feeders in high-traffic areas. Lots of noise and frequent human comings and goings won’t harm the hummingbirds, but it may lead them to abandon your feeder for someplace quieter.
How to Hang Hummingbird Feeders
A hummingbird feeder suspended from a tree branch provides a natural and flexible way to attract hummingbirds to your yard.
Once you’ve decided where to place your feeders, you’ll need to hang them. Common supports include the types of hooks and brackets used for hanging plants; suction cup hooks; feeder poles; and tree branches. In many cases, the location you’ve chosen will determine the best method.
- Hanging plant-style hooks or brackets work well on porches and patios. Just be prepared for occasional spills and leaks.
- Suction cup hooks attach a feeder directly to your window. The views are unbeatable, but even suction cups advertised as heavy duty can fail in heat or cold.
- Feeder poles can be installed anywhere you can dig a hole, making them the most flexible option.
- Tree branches are natural supports, but finding one with the right diameter and height that doesn’t expose birds to predators can be challenging. Rigging up a support system using some combination of S-hooks, carabiners, and ropes or straps takes a bit of ingenuity.
Final Thoughts
Fewer than 20 species of hummingbirds are seen regularly in the U.S. and Canada, many of them within a very limited range. This means that outside of hotspots like southern Arizona, hummingbird feeders won’t draw a wide variety of species, or particularly large numbers of individuals.
Most bird lovers are just fine with that. We’re not trying to recreate a lodge in the tropical cloud forest; we just want to see our local hummingbirds up close. Following the advice here will help you do so in a way that’s fun for you and safe for them. With luck, the tiny, darting, shimmering fairies that grace your yard this spring will be back next year.
Hummingbird Feeder FAQs
When should I set up and take down my feeders?
It’s best to put feeders up in the early spring, even before flowers bloom, to benefit early migrants. At the end of the season, consider keeping feeders up for several weeks after your last hummingbird sighting in case stragglers or off-course vagrants pass through. In some parts of the country, feeders can be left up all year.
Don’t worry that leaving your feeders up will distort migratory patterns. Migration is complicated, but it’s driven more by the length of the day and other seasonal cues than by the availability of food. In fact, feeders can be a lifeline for migrating hummingbirds that veer off course.
Does color matter?
There’s a reason so many hummingbird feeders incorporate red components. Hummingbirds are highly visual feeders, attracted to bright colors – especially red. Don’t make the mistake of dying your nectar, though. It’s unnecessary and makes it harder for you to gauge its condition.
How can I stop ants and bees from taking over my feeder?
Ants can be deterred by water-filled moats placed between the feeder and its hook. Bees are attracted to yellow (avoid), leaks (address quickly) and to feeders that provide them with easy access to nectar. Bee-resistant feeders designed around hummingbirds’ long tongues are effective deterrents.
Should I put up multiple feeders?
If you have the space and ambition, absolutely. Hummingbirds are fiercely territorial. Often, a single dominant male will drive other birds away from “his” feeder. By spacing multiple feeders 10-20 feet apart, or even out of view from one another, you can create separate feeding zones that will encourage more birds.
Do hummingbirds return to the same feeders year after year?
Amazingly, they do. Research on banded birds has documented strong “site fidelity” among these tiny travelers. Not only will hummingbirds fly hundreds or even thousands of miles to return to the same feeder, they may show up on or very close to the same date.
I love hummingbirds, but I’m not sure I can commit to a feeder. Are there other ways to attract them?
Great question! You can also attract hummingbirds by incorporating their preferred natural food sources into your yard and garden. For general guidance, this resource from the U.S. Forest Service offers a wide-ranging overview across species and regions.
