Not perfect but the best available

I'm still hunting for the perfect feeder. This feeder meets most of my requirements:

1. Reservoir must be glass not plastic. Plastic reservoirs get cloudy always look dirty and seem to breed mold and mildew. Glass is easier to clean - just wash with soapy water. Every couple of times I wash it I add a couple of drops of bleach to the soapy water. Rinse thoroughly with hot water. I've never had a problem with mold buildup in the corners.

2. Must have a perch for the hummers -they prefer it that way.

3. Must have a decent size reservoir to eliminate the need to fill twice daily. When hummers are not quite as active don't fill this one up all the way. Sometimes it should just be filled 1/4 of the way. Ideally this feeder would have a bottle that is slightly smaller. Perhaps a 24 ounce size bottle that is a bit narrower might be better. But then it might heat up more in the sun and begin the habit of growing mold and mildew. This bottle is highly resistant to mold and mildew if cleaned at least once a week.

4. Must be an inverter type to easily see the food level and to hold an adequate amount of food without the need to refill more than every two or three days.

5. Base must be easy to clean without crevices that you can't get to. This is the area where this feeder fails horribly. You cannot disassemble the base and all you can do is wash and rinse.

6. Design of the feeder should not allow Yellow jackets access to the food. Although they may smell it and try to get to it they can't with this feeder - they quickly give up and leave the food for the hummers. The liquid level in the base is too far from the feeding ports for the yellow jackets to reach. The other Perky Pet feeder that I have (the 24 oz with the hourglass shape) is too shallow and the yellow jackets take over the feeder in the late summer months. This feeder is a much better design.

7. The plastic base should be of a high quality non-porous plastic. This feeder meets this requirement.

8. The ports should not be some silly design to look like a flower. This one barely meets this requirement. At least the plastic flowers are flush with the base instead of sticking up like some of the really cheap feeders.

9. Ideally the glass bottle should be easily replaceable. This feeder does not meet this requirement. What I would really like to see is a design where you can use a standard mason jar and the feeder would have some type of easily cleanable adapter. Or how about using a standard 1 quart vinegar bottle? I saw one like this once but wasn't sure if the feeder met my yellow jacket requirements.

Happy hunting for your perfect feeder!More detail ...

You can't buy a better feeder

This feeder is the best I've had and I have had a bunch. It has a huge capacity so you don't have to fill it very often. It is almost impossible for squirrels to stand on and if they manage to get a foothold their weight closes the feeding ports so they can't get anything. You can adjust it to exclude large birds such as starlings and grackles. When it needs to be cleaned you just put it in the dishwasher. When an especially crafty squirrel tried to chew it's way in to my feeder I informed Brome about the damage and they sent me a replacement part for free! Squirrel busters have a lifetime warranty against squirrel damage. I have had mine for about 3 years and couldn't be happier with it. If you only have one bird feeder in your life this should be the one.More detail ...

Too messy and wasteful

I own this product and finches love it however it is too porous. Much of the precious nyjer is wasted on the ground beneath. For a fraction of the price I bought a THISTLE SAK FEEDER by Gardner/Homestead and remedied the situation. The mesh is finer yet sturdy. I am now visited by dozens of finches without mounds of wasted uneaten seeds. Give it a try you'll more than make up the cost in no time!More detail ...

No more bees no drips a snap to clean!

I initially bought a classic "perky pet" feeder with the glass jar draining down into several feeding "flowers." Despite the bee guards I often saw yellowjackets hovering around it. They squeezed themselves along the underside of the bee guards to get dribbles that leaked out of the flowers. Also I learned that bees are drawn to yellow (the color of the plastic flowers). I'm sure ants would have found the dribbles before long as well - there were even splatters on my deck.



Also there was no way to be sure the plastic base was really clean when I refilled it. I've heard you can poison hummers with fungus if the feeders are not cleaned thoroughly every 3-4 days. Fungus just loves sugar water.



I looked at some hummingbird afficionado sites and apparently the hummzinger models are the way to go. The simple construction is very easy to scrub out; no hidden recesses for fungus to grow. There is no yellow on it so less attractive to bees. I have not seen one yellowjacket since installing this! No drips and bees can't reach nectar through the openings.



It should be refilled even when it is not empty both because of fungus growth (I have found fungus after waiting too long) and also because it seems a bit deep for hummers to reach the bottom unless they are a long-billed variety. (I have Anna's hummers).



I had some trouble getting the lid off for cleaning untill I realized I could just use the brass hanger to push the base down while pulling the lid upwards.



It's worth the frequent cleaning when I can sit in my living room watching the birds enjoy their nectar. This feeder makes the maintenance as easy as possible.More detail ...

"Our" favorite feeder

My hummers had no trouble switching from the basic bottle feeders to this saucer and I love it because it's the oh-so-easy to clean. The built in ant moat dries out rather quickly but I basically fail to fill it anyway and haven't had any ant problems at all. I now have 2 of these feeders that hang from shepherds hooks and there's no leakage problems whatsoever. Remember: change your sugar water frequently; every few days to avoid spoilage. I highly recommend this feeder.



EDIT (04/2008): I wish this feeder came in 8oz since I don't really need 16oz and don't get that many hummers (unfortunately). But I did also purchase a Hummzinger Fancy (12 oz) and surprisingly I just didn't like it. It was easy to clean but was deeper than the PPO which didn't appeal to me. I had put the Perky Pet on one hook on the south side of the house and the HummZinger on the north side's hook. The HummZinger didn't get much activity which was surprising since the hummers are used to both hooks having a feeder. After 2 weeks I put the HummZinger away and went back to 2 PP's. Activity resumed on the north hook...



Considering both feeders are outside from April to November and rinsed in hot water for every cleaning they've held up well. No cracking minimal color fading no flowers have needed replacement to date.More detail ...

This camera will provide simple enjoyable projects

--This camera is advertised for its lapse-time (automatic spaced intervals between exposures) capability. Its name (PlantCam) could give the impression that its only use is for seeing a bud flower plant or garden grow "high speed" compressing hours days or weeks into a few minutes. But it can be used with delight in many other nature-situations with satisfaction showing "sped-up replay" in the motions of clouds shadows animal intra-flock associations indoor flower turning snow melting and even things like recording the development of a drawing construction what people mostly look at in a store window and on and on. The camera works fine with variable time selections a laser pointer for down to 11 inch close-up work a view finder for distant projects several levels of resolution date-time imprint and more. I have viewed the picture results with Windows Picture Manager finding the filmstrip view nice for speeding through the sequence. In Windows Movie Maker I can move what might be hundreds of pictures to its story board and play the changes as a sort of movie. I also have the company's BirdCam and get incredible bird closeups. The cameras are simple to operate with almost intuitive control layout but I recommend you work through the carefully written and adequate manual with camera in hand several times. For a number of times I was overlooking the last step that is turn the dial to "auto" before setting the camera on the tripod or ground for its shooting. I am convinced this camera would be great for an adult to use in collaboration with a youngster in discovery activity. I know I have found its pictures excellent and intriging.More detail ...

Junk food for hummingbirds

Why is this stuff "junk food"? Not because it's 99% sugar - that's what hummingbirds drink real flower nectar for. It's because this product like so much human junk food is laced with unnatural unnecessary and potentially hazardous chemicals. The description brags that it doesn't contain any artificial sweeteners (duh!) but if this really is the original Perky Pet formula it does contain the food coloring Red #40. This synthetic coal-tar dye is the single most popular food coloring in the world but it's actually banned in some countries over concerns about its safety. From a health standpoint it's important to remember that a hummingbird may drink more than *three times its weight* in nectar or feeder solutions each day. Even a relatively harmless chemical can have damaging effects at such high consumption rates.



Unnecessary additives such as dyes preservatives and flavorings are just one reason that hummingbird experts discourage the use of products such as this one. Another is cost. Even the dye-free "instant nectars" contain absolutely nothing to justify a price that's 5 to 8 times higher than that of ordinary white sugar (which is actually sucrose the natural sugar hummingbirds prefer above all others). A simple solution of 3 to 5 parts water to 1 part white table sugar is convenient inexpensive and much more natural for the birds. Remember to clean the feeder and change the solution every 2 to 5 days. For even happier healthier hummingbirds plant hummingbird-friendly flowers such as red salvias and columbines and keep your yard pesticide free to provide the tiny insects and spiders that they need for a well-rounded diet.More detail ...