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
I want to put flash tape to scare away other birds but will this scare away the humming birds? If so i will not use it
I think part of the problem is that nobody is thinking like the birds. Underlying principle for them is that you do not risk your life trying to get food. I have purchased multiple feeders and hang one of them close to our resident woodpeckers’s residence. Then, I placed two in favorable tree that becomes inaccessible to larger birds bc of branches and strategic pruning. Other ones are distributed throughout the property for the rest of the birds. So far, none of the birds have bothered each other cross species. In fact, the hummers are annoying bullies given their size especially in the Spring during mating season. It it is spectacular to watch their agility outflying each other to get a spot ton the table. The woodpecker are distructiv e by nature since their entire development has been focused on getting to nutrients that are hiding in wood. Plastic will not be any problems for their jackhammer type skull and beaks. The only drawback with this approch is me having to change out 6 feeders every 3 days, but that is more about me than the birds. Lastly, to read about the frustration and plain animosity toward animals that do nothing but to survive is a bit disheartening. I also know that federal staff is tough on all of you jerks that think it is OK to shoot protected animals. It’s not up to you to decide what birds can be shot or not. I know of someone who took this to the test and ended up regretting it due to the fine and legal problems that had a cascading effect. Enjoy your feathered neighbors as long as they are still around
Please post a picture with your victim. This way the feds can track your ass down for violating the Migratory Bird act. Then of course, your probably a bedwetting 12 year old child trolling around the net bc you don’t have a life otherwise