![]() No one in the Americas who has experienced sitting in the garden watching the hummingbirds do their rounds at the Crocosmia, Agastache, or pineapple sage can say that they haven’t enjoyed the spectacle of these birds covered in iridescent, colorful feathers who work the same job as honeybees but behave like they own the garden. It’s hard not to love them, in spite (or perhaps because) of their bad attitudes and short tempers. ![]() So I have an enormous affection for these aggressive, fairly jerky little birds. It’s a 2 ounce bird who thinks it weighs 2 tons. Its little hypodermic needle-like bill plunged toward my face repeatedly. I’ve been charged on two separate occasions in my own garden when the hummingbird deemed I was standing too close to ITS feeder (never mind who fills the feeder). My local black-chins do an enormous U-shaped nose-diving dance in spring, and sometimes they fly rapidly back and forth in front of the bird/human they wish to intimidate/impress. They also perform amazing in-flight aggression/mating (also like mobsters, the line between those two is kinda hazy for hummers) displays. To be standing in the middle of this action is utterly engrossing. They’ll strafe your head or pass mere inches in front of your face in pursuit of an enemy stealing nectar from THEIR feeder. Imagine having a garden or yard filled with enormous pollinators that can hover in front of a flower motionless or zip off in the blink of an eye, who squabble with each other endlessly and get into ear-piercing chirpy dogfights before your very eyes, and sometimes literally right in front of them. ![]() For those of you not fortunate enough to live on continents with hummingbirds, let me give a taste of how enormously entertaining these birds that have become insects can be. They act like mobsters when not atop the tree too. Big is probably more than one bird, but I call them that because the males like to sit up there on their sprucey throne, lording over their domain and flicking their heads from right to left, left to right, like nervous mobsters. ![]() Credit: Don Faulkner Flickr (CC BY-SA 2.0)īehind my house is a blue spruce, at the tip top of which is the favorite perch of my local black-chinned hummingbird, Mr. It will also help avoid overcrowding.A black-chinned hummingbird shows off its iridescent violet neck feathers, visible only when the light hits them just right. If possible, get more than one bird feeder so the birds get ample space while feasting on your treats. Select the design that allows the animals to perch as well to keep the seeds or suet cakes from being soiled. The best freestanding bird feeder, therefore, is one that’s designed to be predator-proof.Īdditionally, you can apply a coat of oil at the base and pole of your bird feeder to make it really slippery that rats and other predators won’t get to the actual feeder.Īs you wouldn’t want to harm the animals, choose the freestanding bird feeder that doesn’t have any sharp points or edges. This means the supply of seeds for the birds you’re hoping to feed will be depleted.Īlso, unprotected feeders can expose these beautiful animals to predators, especially when the senses of birds are dulled when they're feeding. Squirrels, rats, deer, raccoons, and even bears are known to snack at feeders. There are several forms of wildlife which will gladly raid the feeders of birds.
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