I have to refill every day recently and I know that it is mostly hummers, cause I've seen them battle over the feeder. As soon as I refilled & hung it up last evening I crouched behind the trunk of the tree and instantly 3 hummers were very interested.

But I have also seen chickadees drink from it.

Another possibility is certainly wind, but it would have to be a pretty strong wind (like 30 mph or more) to tilt the feeder enough to spill. Or if squirrels use the hanging branch as a highway, they could be tilting or shaking the feeder as they run by.

You should be seeing the hummers. They aren't exactly shy creatures. Do a stake-out. You will come to learn the hummer's distinctive chirping noise and hear the hum of those tiny buzzing wings.

Wind will know those perky pet feeders around pretty good. I quit using my 4 fountain feeder for that reason and the fact that there were always bees all over it even with bee guards. I don't know where yours is hanging but bats could alsw be the culprit if the nectar is going down at night. You would have to have a LOT of hummers in your yard in order for it to be emptied that quickly.

Penny

Sorry about my previous post I should have proofed it before submitting it. I meant to say that the wind can create havoc with some of the bottle feeders. I had the most problems with the perky pet 4 fountain feeder. And bats are also known to empty feeders at night.

Penny

Bats eat hummingbird nectar? Hmmmm, that could explain the presence of bats near our deck since I've put the feeders out. We also have a bird bath that I think they're using.

I actually had a house finch perch on one of my feeders. I don't know if he was confused or what.

Did you say bats?? I didn't know that. I've been wanting to put a bat house up for a few years now.

HI Ophelia,

If you have a PP 4-fountain feeder AND all the liquid is gone in a day AND you're not seeing hummingbirds -- it's not hummingbirds! Granted the volume held in that feeders isn't large, but still -- the number of hummingbird visits required to drain that feeder in a day would certainly be noticed.

That variety of feeder can leak like there's no tomorrow, but it's a favorite of many folks (and many birds!).

If your neighbors have birds and you don't, that doesn't seem fair! :-) Somehow the birds like theirs better. Finding out why is the key! Same feeder design? Similar locations (under a tree, eaves, etc)? Fresh nectar? Same concentrations?

Fresh nectar is probably one of the most important considerations -- change it every few days. No need to fill the feeder very full, either! A couple inches will suffice until you get swarms of birds. You should be pouring out the unused and replacing it with fresh every few days anyway, and there's little sense in wasting a bunch of sugar (unless you want to dump it in your compost bin!)

Hope you get some hummers to enjoy soon!

--Stacy

Here is a link that might be useful: Hummingbird Research & Records