BIRD BATHS

These attract a lot of birds by themselves.

Running Water
- attracts even more birds.
- reduces the freezing temperature
- solar fountains need full sun; and even then don't work well in the Seattle winters.

Freezing Temps
- birds need a lot of water in the winter, too; and there's much less standing water in the winter.
- I use a corded Farm Innovators C-50 150w heater. It has a thermostat to save power.

Capacity
- Larger lasts longer between refills.
- In the summer you're fighting not just higher demand, but higher evaporation.
- Personally, I place a 5 gallon bucket nearby and higher than the bowl. I rigged a float valve in the bowl to let water in from the bucket when it gets 'yay far' down. I leave the lid on loose against debris getting in the bucket, yet easy to lift off to refill with a garden hose.

Cleanliness
- bird poop. Dirty, moldy leaves blow in. The water needs to be clean.
- etching in the bowl are hard to clean out.
- scrub it clean first, then use a 1:9 **, water to (white) vinegar sanitizing solution.
  ** I don't know why 1:9 for bird baths, yet 1:1 for feeders.


                                         SANITIZING BIRD FEEDERS

      Cleaned means cleaned to the touch & eye.   Sanitizing kills virus, bacteria & fungus.


                                                Seed & Suet Feeders
These should be sanitized at least monthly; scrubbing all crevices & corners of any caked seed or suet buildup on the cage: especially any mold. Look in the crevices or etching.

They should be flat out removed from service (1- 2 weeks) immediately upon noticing any bird with swelling around an eye. Around here (Seattle) pine siskins are particularly susceptible. Infected birds rub their irritated eyes against the feeding ports & feeder, transferring their disease to others. A swelled up eye means they can't watch predators well and their attention is distracted from rubbing so often....death.

When seed gets wet it begins to cake in the feeder. It now easily supports mold, bacteria & viruses. If your seed is caking you should consider tossing the remaining seed and sanitizing the feeder early; especially if you notice mold. Start using less seed each refill.

If the suet is building up on the cage badly, you might sanitize it more often.

If suet it's molding, then you should immediately toss the suet and sanitize the cage; start using smaller chunks of suet.

If you use a seed catcher, scrub it when it starts caking with wet seeds.


                                               Hummingbird Feeders
Mold kills hummers. It quickly grows in the nectar and on the hummingbird feeder. The number one problem with hummingbird feeders is that they don't get sanitized nearly often enough: 1-4 days, depending on the weather. Scub all crevices & corners.

This is b/c the sugar water is very susceptible to fungus, which causes the bird's tongue to swell, leading to death. You can see a swollen tongue by noticing that the tongue never retracts. Only a veterinarian can cure it. If it's not cured, the hummer will die of starvation or dehydration.

Nectar Defender - It's added to your nectar and extends the nectar safety to 1-2 weeks, depending on the weather. What I read is that it works & it's safe. It uses 6 ppm copper sulphate, which is less than they pick up in the wild; and less than they actually require for dietary requirements: 8 ppm, according to UC Davis avian researchers.

  If you're not using this product, then 1-4 days (depending on the weather) is a must.

                                                             How to Sanitize
​Look very carefully for black mold in corners & crevices, inside & out of the feeder. Use a 0.3" port cleaning brush to get into the ports and crevices.

Soap is not good b/c it virtually always leaves a trace of soap; enough to upset their bellies. Your & my stomaches don't notice the soap. If we do, then it's not going to kill us. It can & does , though, upset a hummingbird's belly; and  an upset belly is another reason for a bird to die, usually as a comorbidity, but dead is dead.

A Vinegar or Bleach Solution is good, but it needs to be well rinsed & air-dried in each case. Towel drying is likely to reapply nasty (invisible) stuff to your newly sanitized feeder; and it leaves moisture in crevices, from which mold & other nasties more quickly grow. Put your solution in a spray bottle and drench all surfaces, crevices & corners.

White Vinegar 
- don't need to worry about your lungs. Be very mindful of your eyes, though.
- water to vinegar ratio should be 1:1. I know many sites recommend more diluted than 1:1, but they're not going to sanitize nearly so well. It's safe.
- when someone talks about a vinegar percentage, that's different than when you thin it down with a ratio of 1:1 with tap water. The percentage is the ratio of vinegar in the solution that's in the bottle that you buy, usually 3% or higher. Keep your purchased vinegar at 3% to 5".

Bleach
- water to bleach ration of 1:10. It's harsh stuff.
- should wear eye protection against splashes; and to remind yourself not to rub near your eyes.
- should really open door & windows to prevent damaging your lungs.
- It's cheaper.

                                                                              HUMMINGBIRD FEEDERS

I use the Feed Garden 2 Pack 16 oz Hummingbird Feeder.  The transparent bowl lets you see their bill and tongue work.

Most important, though, is that this feeder is super easy to sanitize. That means we might sanitize it more often. Flip the red lid upside down and clip off the little tabs under the feeding ports and it's even easier.  It has a water moat against ants that's hard to sanitize. I DIY cover it to prevent them from drinking out of it.

I use two feeders as part of my sanitizing regimen. One in use, the other sanitized and ready for when I replace the "nectar".

Other feeders have deep containers, more do-dads or fancier "flowers" making it so very much harder to get the mold off, which kills hummingbirds. Feeding ports located underneath usually weep, greatly supporting mold. Bee or wasp screens are very hard to sanitize. If you don't have that problem, take them off. I don't have that problem.

                                                                        Bees, Wasps, Hornets & Ants
This is only a hummingbird feeder problem. They're only a problem is they mob your feeder.  Onesey-twosey-ish visits aren't a problem. I rarely see one.If stinging fliers are mobbing your feeder then some feeders have cages around the feeding ports against the fliers, but they're a dickens to sanitize the mold from.For ants, some (like mine) have a moat b/t the hanging post and the feeder. You put water in it to prevent them making it to the feeding ports. I wish mine didn't have a moat, though. I don't have ants and it's a damn nuisance to sanitize. I might DIY cover it to prevent hummers from drinking it; so I don't have to worry about it much.


                                                                             HUMMINGBIRD NECTAR

Please, don't purchase nectar. You don't know what's in it. It's cheaper, wicked easy to make your own and you can leave extra in the fridge for a week. Red dye is not at all necessary.

I use a ratio of 1:4, water to granular white sugar. It's the closest thing to nectar anyone can make. The only reason to boil it is to make it dissolve more quickly.  In freezing weather I switch to a 1:3 ratio.

If you find 1:3 ratio gets slushy or freezes, I find most strap-on underneath products don't work. That is they do, but when it rains they short out & damage your feeder. Sometimes they just short out even when dry. I suspect, though, that the Wild Birds Unlimited "Hummer Hearth" will do fine. I suspect so will the Mr. Hummingbird Warmer Heater will, too.

A sock or other insulator will not work. Those work for us only b/c we're generating heat.

I use a short string of incandescent string lights to keep the nectar warm. It won't matter what color. LED lights will not work: no heat.


                                                                                          SEED FEEDERS

I also only use squirrel-proof ones. I don't care to feed the squirrels. Feeding squirrels is really expensive. I use the Squirrel Buster Plus.  It has a 5 lb capacity. During winter months (heavy feeding) I refill it every 1-4 days, depending on the temperature.

It's not nearly as easy to sanitize as my hummingbird feeder, though; and I'm not going to purchase a second one to make sanitizing more convenient. It's too expensive.

Less expensive, if I purchase a second one I'll get one with a weight activated flap. (image) I think it'll work and this one has a 6 lb capacity; though I'm leery about the lid against squirrels. That may require a tiny piece of DIY.


                                                                                                  SEED

I use only one seed type in my feeder, not a mix. That way choosy birds don't toss seeds far and wide: rats. (I'm looking at you, nuthatches.) I use sunflower seeds: Seattle. I may add a second seed feeder to get a second shelled seed type.  Your location may have different birds which want something different.I also use shelled seeds so it's not such a mess underneath.Containers - I use a Behrens 6 gallon metal pail with a snug lid to prevent rats & squirrels from getting in. Plastic gets chewed. If you're lid isn't snug or securable then the squirrel will get into it, then the rats. The 6 gallon size is enough to hold a 20 lb bag of seed, plus a little more.


                                                                                          SUET FEEDERS

I have a suet feeder for both song birds and the woodpeckers.  It holds two cakes; and is squirrel resistant. Notice the inner suet cage touches the bottom.                (image)

You can get suet feeders in single, double or more suet cake capacity. You might start a single or double until you see how fast they need replaced vs. how fast they mold: rainy season.

Again, I only use squirrel proof suet cakes. However, they're often not proof against mature Eastern Gray Squirrels from getting inside. The young can get in; as well as Douglass Squirrels.  I don't mind the latter. There's only one and he's not a glutton. The mature Eastern Grays will hang from below, like a woodpecker.

Some prevent squirrels & woodpeckers. The suet cage is suspended above the exclusion cage. Some prevent just large birds & squirrels.  There are ones that are difficult for song birds to eat from.
            (image)    (image)   (image)

                                                                                                  SUET

Wild Birds Unlimited has suet I prefer. I use their 1) Nuts & Berries, 2) Naturally Nuts and 3) Christmas Suet.  The latter has a higher energy punch. Nuts & berries b/c I have woodpeckers. You should consider a summer no-melt cake if you have melting problems. It's a mold danger, as well as an aesthetic and cleanup problem.

                                                                                                  RATS

Seed Feeders can attract rats. The sole remedy I know is to use a (wide) seed catcher and only one seed, not a seed mix. Those !@#% nuthatches throw undesired seed far & wide.

My feeder is mounted on a tall shepards' hook, so I use a baffle low enough to prevent them from jumping from the pole to the seed catcher.

I use a 30" wide, mesh-bottomed seed catcher, for drainage. Keep it about 14" from the bottom of the feeder to catch more (thrown) seed.  (8" if you don't have squirrels. Squirrels damage the feeder & cut the strings.) Ideally it will be 36" off the ground to prevent rats from jumping up: 48" against squirrels.


                                                                                            SQUIRRELS

Squirrels are expensive to feed. I keep my seed catcher low enough from the feeder that it cannot stand and eat: 14". It has to hang on the feeder to eat, which triggers my squirrel-proof seed feeders.

I use a baffle on the pole of my tall shepards hook to prevent them from jumping from the pole to the feeder. They chew up the strings and mesh. Happily, in my case, Douglass Squirrels jump from a tree that must be too much of a nuisance for the Eastern Gray Squirrel to jump from. I like the Douglass Squirrels