The past few weeks, we’ve been writing about keeping your hummingbird feeders free from pesky ants and flying insects. One of our readers brought up another threat to hummingbird feeders, other birds.
Orioles are known for raiding hummingbird feeders, but they’re not the only ones. Woodpeckers, House Finches and other species tend to invade hummingbird feeders for a chance to drink the sweet nectar. And when these bigger birds eat the nectar, they usually scare away the hummingbirds, which defeats the whole purpose.
So here’s what you can do to protect your hummers from unwanted birds.
Get an oriole feeder, suet feeder and/or seed feeder
One of the best solutions is to simply get more feeders. If you mind having orioles coming to your hummingbird feeders, you can buy feeders especially for them. Oriole feeders are essentially the same as hummingbird feeders, but they can accommodate fruits and jelly as well as nectar. For woodpeckers, you can also put up suet feeders for them to get nutrition. You can do the same thing with other feeders, depending on the species hanging around your hummingbird feeders. Remember to make sure they’re always full, so the birds don’t have to turn to your other feeders for food.
Get a feeder with a bottle that hangs over the feeding area
Small, perchless feeders essentially keep out every bird except hummers because most birds need to perch while eating. A feeder like the Ruby Antique Bottle feeder is a beautiful addition to any yard and the slope of the bottle over the feeder keeps larger bird from landing. A larger bird like the woodpecker wouldn’t be able to mob the small feeder. You can also trim down the perches on your existing feeders.
Buy or make a bird baffle
Even if the feeder itself doesn’t have a perch, sometimes birds are able to perch on top of the feeder or grab onto the wire that holds it up. You can put a standard baffle or create your own makeshift one out of an old CD.
Separate the feeders
If you have separate feeders for orioles and woodpeckers, but they’re still going to the hummingbird feeders, try separating them. Putting them farther apart will make it less tempting for an oriole to move over and target the hummingbird feeder.
Please let us know any solutions you found.
127 Comments
please do not use store bought RED hummingbird food!!! It kills the hummers!! It is bad for them , it swells their
throats. should be illegal to sell in first place. 4 parts water to 1 part sugar! PLEASE
I just posted a question about the hummingbirds not coming back to the same feeder I have had for a year….reeading some of the other people’s suggestion, I think I found the answer. This summer, the bees discovered the sweetness and took over and that is problem why they just gave up trying to get there fair share…How do you keep bees away from the hot days of summer? Also, I noticed that when one hummer comes to feed and one or more come at the same time, the one there first chases them away….Is it like she is the queen and wants them to know it is her personal restaurant, or do they mind that others comes at the same time? Are they territorial? Thanks for you imput.
Used a small shiny disc hanging from the feeder and it scares the woodpeckers away.