However, if you’re a bird lover specifically wanting to draw hummingbirds to your garden, a nectar feeder is what you’ll need. These beautiful and unique little birds don’t eat seeds. They feed on nectar. That means, if your garden isn’t bountiful with their favorite flowers for feeding, you’ll need a special hummingbird feeder to bring them to your backyard. To complicate things further, there are different types of hummingbird feeders to consider. Luckily, we’ve simplified your choice by listing the leading hummingbird feeders in 2025 to help you keep these beautiful little birds happy. We’ll also give you some tips on what to look for when choosing your new garden accessory.
This hummingbird feeder from Muse Garden is both beautiful and functional. Bring art to your garden with these handblown glass designs that incorporate everything your nectar feeder needs. The units are detachable and easy to clean, and have an ant moat, bee guards, and four feeding ports. There are also perches for the birds to rest on and a leak-proof rubber gasket to keep the nectar from seeping out.
This feeder won best overall because of its outside-the-box design. Many feeders are egg-shaped, but this unique mushroom design makes it both an interesting and pretty garden accessory. I recommend this to people who want a more unique feeder that doesn’t sacrifice functionality.
These unique, handmade glass hummingbird feeders make a gorgeous addition to your garden. They are available in large and small sizes and come in five different color designs. The feeder integrates the glass nectar bulb with five flower feeding ports in a metal bottom casing. The bottom base and clear glass feeder are detachable, which makes it easy and quick to clean. Since the glass is designed with transparent colors, you can keep track of how much nectar is still available and refill the feeder as needed.
If you’re someone who already knows you’ll have a lot of hummingbirds hanging out around your home, I recommend the large version. Holding up to 36 fl. oz., this is the largest option available on our list.
This glass fireworks design feeder incorporates a colorful design on a clear blue glass background. The transparent holder allows you to see when refilling is needed. It is easily detachable to fill and clean. To prevent leaking, a rubber gasket forms a tight seal around the base. Birds can enjoy their nectar through four flower ports and rest on the heat-resistant perches around the base. The environmentally friendly design utilizes lead-free, non-toxic, and recycled materials, a wonderful factor for those looking for an eco-friendly bird feeder option.
If you’re looking to help the Earth out, consider this option a perfect 2-for-1 combo. Not only are you feeding hummingbirds but doing so in a sustainable way.
This 18-ounce hummingbird feeder comes in your choice of lavender, red, or blue and will give you the classic look of lanterns hanging in your backyard. The top metal handle makes the feeder easy to carry and sits securely on branches or hooks. The glass ball features a unique netted texture design and easily assembles onto the leakproof circular base. The base offers a continuous round perch and five red flower feeding ports to attract many hummingbirds at once. Since the glass design is transparent, it allows you to keep track of when a refill is needed, a great option for those who aren’t interested in constantly refilling their feeder.
If you’re interested more in the hummingbirds visiting than the feeder itself, this is a great option. It functions the way it should with a design that is beautiful yet subtle.
If you’ve had problems with keeping ants out of your hummingbirds’ nectar, despite having a feeder with a moat, you might need a little more firepower. This red ant moat is designed with a ¾-cup capacity to keep your birds’ sweet nectar free from ants. The cup is made from long-lasting and UV-stabilized polycarbonate with a hook at the top for hanging and a ring at the bottom to attach the hummingbird nectar feeder securely to a wall, post, or tree. All you need to do is keep filling the cup with water every few days to form a barrier that keeps ants at bay.
Hummingbirds are not only cute and beautiful, but they’re clever, too. They can fly forwards, backward, upside down, or hover perfectly in one spot. Having them visit your garden is special to watch, but you’ll need to give them a reason to pop by. Since they don’t eat seeds, a nectar feeder is the best way to provide them with a snack. In this guide, we’ll help you choose the best hummingbird feeder for your garden as well as give you tips on how to use it for the best results.
Despite the great variety of feeders, they are generally classified into two main groups: saucer feeders and vacuum feeders.
Vacuum feeders work like an inverted bottle with a feeding port base at the bottom end. The pressure created by trapped air in the bottle holds nectar inside. The birds reach into the base with their tongues and long needle-like beaks to eat nectar in small amounts.
These feeders are great because, like a flower, they allow the bird to get a small amount at a time. They are also easy to refill and clean. However, if the vacuum breaks and they start to leak, nectar will spill, attracting insects and pests. The seal around this type of feeder can be fragile and start leaking due to expansion from sunlight, heavy wind, or insufficient nectar levels that influence the pressure levels.
Saucer feeders are designed like a bowl with a lid that has feeding ports and a hole for refilling. The birds stick their long, thin beaks downwards to lap up some nectar. These are less likely to leak, especially if well-secured from the wind. The only disadvantage of saucer feeders is that certain designs are a little harder to keep clean after extended use from birds.
There is a lot of add ons, features, and design styles to think about when it comes to buying a hummingbird feeder. Here are a few major features to take note of before clicking the purchase button online.
The size of the ports where the birds access the nectar needs to be big enough so the birds don’t struggle to eat, but not too big that the feeder leaks. If the nectar is too hard to get to, the birds will move on to greener pastures.
Some feeders integrate plastic flowers into the design to guide the birds where to probe. Although they snap over the ports they don’t prevent insects from accessing the nectar. If bees or wasps are a problem, a bee guard will be a better solution.
If you’ve never had a feeder, you may wonder why cleaning a nectar feeder is necessary. To prevent bacteria build-up in the feeder, it should be cleaned every five days or more often in hot conditions. When choosing your feeder, look for something that is easy to clean and can be scrubbed with a brush. If you go with a bottleneck type, make sure a small brush will fit inside to reach all the edges for cleaning.
To keep insects from hogging and infiltrating the feeder, choose something with protected ports or ant moats. A feeder with yellow accents is more likely to attract wasps, so go with a different color if possible.
Providing the birds with nectar may sound complicated, but you can make your own mixture of sugar and water at home to make sure you’re ready to feed the little feathered beauties.
If you have a lot of hummingbirds coming to feed (or if you want to attract more) lay out several feeders at a fair distance from one another so that more dominant birds cannot control the feeding area. Small capacity feeders allow you to conserve nectar so that you don’t waste any before it’s time to clean the unit. However, the size you get will largely depend on the number of birds that visit your garden.
Natural flower nectar and insects are not as easily available in early spring, so this is a good time to keep your feeder stocked up. Mixing four parts of water with one part of sugar is all you need. Don’t add coloring, sugar substitutes, brown sugar, or honey. Regular table sugar is best. You can keep the solution for up to two weeks in the refrigerator.
These beautiful little birds will love your garden if there are insects to munch on, nectar to sip on, and chemical-free air to breathe. Pesticides can be extremely harmful to the birds, so try to garden naturally if you want to attract them. Spider web silk is commonly used by birds to build their nests, so leaving spiderwebs in your garden intact is not a bad idea.
Hummingbirds favor certain flowers. They often love trumpet honeysuckle, tiger lily, red salvia, coralberry, fuchsia, sage, hibiscus, lemon bottlebrush, evening primrose, red impatiens, and mimosa trees. Targeting growth for these types of flowers will certainly draw in more hummingbirds.
When choosing a spot to hang or mount the feeder, you’ll want to consider a few things.
Firstly, the feeders need to be visible to you from inside your home and birds from the skies. If the birds can’t see the feeders, they won’t come to your garden. If you can’t see the feeders, you won’t be able to birdwatch from the comfort of your home.
Keep in mind that these birds are small, generally around 3 to 4 four inches long. So even if you can see the bright red feeder across the yard, you might not be able to see the details of the birds if you’re too far away. On the flip side, hummingbird feeders that are too close to your windows may cause the birds to collide into the glass and injure themselves.
Space the feeders close to flowers that will attract the birds, but do not place them in an overpopulated area of hard-to-reach bushes or were lots of bigger birds are feeding. Remember, the feeders need to be accessible to the birds, but also to you for regular cleaning. In addition, it’s good to position feeders out of sight of one another to avoid territorial birds controlling the nectar territory. Having the feeder sit in direct sunlight the whole day will cause the nectar to spoil more quickly. The ideal placement will be somewhere that gets some sunlight but is shaded during the hottest parts of the day.
Although glass feeders may not provide as many physical design options, they do offer some benefits. They won’t warp in hot sunlight, they are more durable against the elements, and they’re much more sturdy against wear and tear. Glass feeders are also easier to clean, and can easily be sterilized from toxic mold.
Even though feeders generally come in red, they can be any color. Certain insects may be drawn to specific colors (such as wasps to yellow), but as for the birds, the color doesn’t matter as much.
Although the birds can be seen feeding throughout the day, the most popular times you may spot them near your feeder are early morning or late afternoon before sunset
Consider buying an ant moat, or a hummingbird feeder that comes with an ant moat, to keep them out. Alternatively, you could spread a thin layer of vegetable oil on the surface of the hummingbird feeder, which will also act as a deterrent.
Both, actually! If you're using nectar, it can spoil or even ferment in just a few hours of intense sunlight, so you'll want to make sure it doesn't go bad by placing your feeder in a place that gets a mix of sun and shade throughout the day.