The best thing to do is to prevent ants from ever finding your nectar bird feeders in the first place.  The best feeder for this task is a dripless feeder like a saucer feeder.  Most saucer feeders have a built in area around the nectar saucer that can hold water, in which ants will be unable to swim across to reach the nectar.  If you have a saucer feeder that does not have this ant moat, you can purchase an ant guard like the Ant-Off Ant Guard Bell for Hummingbird Feeders.  You can attach your nectar feeder too the Ant-Off Ant Guard Bell for Hummingbird Feeders, and it will prevent ants from reaching your bird feeder.  It has a cute bell shape and is probably the cutest ant guard on the market.

There is a wide variety of saucer style hummingbird feeders.  One saucer feeder that I have had great results with  is the Happy Eight-2 Hummingbird Feeder.  This feeder is large, having 8 feeding ports.  But the best part about the Happy Eight-2 Hummingbird Feeder is that it has 2 insect guards.  Ants will never infest this feeder!   Another saucer feeder I like is the HummZinger Fancy Hummingbird Feeder, pictured to the right.  This feeder can come in red or fuchsia, which is great because both colors attract hummingbirds.  I like that the HummZinger Fancy Hummingbird Feeder has four feeding ports, but it does not have an ant moat, so you will have to purchase an ant guard, like the Ant-Off Ant Guard Bell for Hummingbird Feeders mentioned above.

The worst kind of feeder to keep nectar from dripping is a bottle-style feeder.  If a bottle style feeder is in direct sunlight, the nectar will become warmed up and will drip to the ground.  Ants will for sure find the bird feeders once they find the nectar on the ground!  Do not be discouraged from using a bottle-style feeders in general, they are great for holding other types of bird food: bird seeds and nuts.

One of my favorite new hummingbird feeders is the Butterfly Perch Glass Hummingbird Feederby Exhart.  This attractive hummingbird feeder has a four butterfly shaped feeding ports with a colored, transparent glass ball.  It is also designed to glow in the dark, so it shimmers at night.  The glass ball is may be filled with red or clear hummingbird nectar. 

A fun way to light up your yard and feed the hummingbirds at the same time is by using the Solar Glass Hummingbird Stakes, which is also made by Exhart.  These colorful, glass bulbs make a statement along a walkway, pathway, and patio or garden area.  They are available in a pack of four assorted, vibrant colors.  The birds will love to drink from them and you will enjoy the beautiful light that they provide at night.

A beautiful, cut-glass style hummingbird feeder is the Ruby Glass Hummingbird Feeder by Audubon Woodlink.  It is made for vibrant, red glass that has facets to make it really stand out.  It is easy to clean because it has a wider opening than other hummingbird feeders and has four flower shaped feeding ports.  It is great for attracting multiple hummingbirds to your yard at one time.

The beautiful Cut Glass Hummingbird Feederby Audubon Woodlink is constructed of ruby red, cut glass in a classic, slender shape that is sure to attract a variety of hummingbirds to your yard.  It may be filled with clear or red colored hummingbird nectar and is easy to open, clean and fill.  This hummingbird feeder has three flower-shaped feeding ports for feeding three hummingbirds at one time and can hold up to 10 ounces of hummingbird nectar.  Place this hummingbird feeder near your house by a window to enjoy the look of the feeder and the hummingbirds feeding at it.

Another small and charming hummingbird feeder that looks great near a window or hanging on a small tree or post is the Mini Lantern Hummingbird Feederby Audubon Woodlink.  This mini lantern hummingbird feeder is perfect for hanging on an evergreen tree branch or on an ornamental tree and it can hold up to 14 ounces of clear or red hummingbird nectar.  It is designed to feed up to four hummingbirds at one time.  The top and bottom have a finish that looks beautiful shining in the sun.

No matter which glass hummingbird feeder you choose, you are sure to attract more hummingbirds to your yard, while adding interest.  Check out Rachel’s Robin for more attractive and unique glass hummingbird feeders for your yard.

The Tasco Monocular with 10 x 25 Magnification is ideal for any bird lover who is on the go.  This sleek minocular travels easily and won’t take up too much room in your bag.  It is also great to have on hand when hiking in the park on a nature trail or walking along the bike path.  With this easy to use minocular, you will be able to see all the beautiful details of a bird from a far away distance.

If you like the compact style of the minocular, but prefer to watch the birds with a pair of binoculars, then the Powerview 10×25 Porro Compact Binoculars may be just right for you.  These binoculars are great for traveling and are lightweight and made to be durable.  They also have fully coated optics that are similar to full size models, but don’t have the bulk. 

Another great option for bird watchers is the Bushnell Trail Sentry 4 MP Birding Camera.  This unique birding camera takes amazing pictures and even allows you to capture short films of beautiful bird on short films.  It is easy to use and has a variety of great features that make your bird experience come to life on paper.  An adjustable strap makes this camera very easy to carry around and the batteries have a long life, so you don’t have to worry about constantly recharging them.

Whether you are bird watching at home or out in nature, a minocular, binoculars, or a birding camera can make your bird watching experience even more fun.  You’ll love being able to see all of the bird’s beautiful details and can make bird memories that you won’t forget.  For other great bird binoculars and more, check out Rachel’s Robin.

Types of Hummingbird/Nectar Feeders

• Hummingbird Bottle or Gravity Feeders – Bottle feeders have an inverted bottle which empties into a feeding port container or tube below the main body. They are often colored red. They come in glass or plastic.
  Hummingbird Saucer or Dish Feeders – Saucer feeders for hummingbirds are most often in a red, dish like container with a cover. Tiny holes are in the cover through which the hummingbird can sip the nectar. These holes are large enough for the beaks of a hummingbird but often too small for the beaks of larger wild birds. Saucer hummingbird feeders are glass or plastic.

• Oriole Feeders - An oriole feeder is essentially designed the same way as a saucer hummingbird feeder but is larger, has longer perches to support orioles and other birds larger than a hummingbird and is usually colored orange instead of red. Often you can skewer an orange half on the top of the feeder and give orioles both nectar and orange citrus slices which they love.

Hummingbird/nectar feeders are often made of plastic although glass is popular for the more decorative hummingbird nectar feeders.

The advantages of using glass hummingbird feeders or metal hummingbird feeders are that they are easier to keep clean than plastic. Glass syrup holders provide slightly better insulation from the sun and they also last longer than plastic feeders.

The down side of glass is that it is breakable and heavy.

1. When filling your hummingbird feeder, make sure to wipe away and clean any nectar that spills on the outside of the feeder.

2. To help prevent bees, wasps and other types of flying insects, use a feeder with bee guards or nectar guards, such as the HummZinger Fancy Hummingbird Feeder. When using this type of hummingbird feeder, bees and wasps are deterred from getting to the nectar.

3. Another trick is set up a fine spray of water around the feeder to help keep flying away. Hummingbirds love to bath in the fine spray of water.

4. An ant guard is also helpful for keeping ants away from the hummingbir feeder. You may also want to choose a feeder with an ant moat and coat the hanger with petroleum jelly.

5. Never use insect spray around your feeders. Using a pesticide can be very harmful to hummingbirds.

These simple tricks are sure to help keep insects away from your hummingbird feeder and allow you more time to enjoy the hummingbirds! Check out these items and more at Rachel’s Robin.