No They do that with me too mostly flying away from other hummers They should get used to the new feeders pretty soon Don't worry about it I used to worry when I first started using feeders but not anymore because they will learn and get used to it. They are always flying away but right now they are taking longer drinks more often from the feeder because they are tanking up and putting on weight for the long trip south I recomend a window feeder so you can see how long they stay I use a canopy humbrella for the sun and rain but in the rain they don't care they come to the window feeder without a canopy the rain doesn't bother them I think it keeps the nectat from going bad a little longer.The only perky pet I use is the canopy one I am not a fan of the oasis copy of humzinger it breaks easily and has the yellow flowers. Sarah

My hummies are spoiled :o) and somewhat trained to come when called. I make a 'kissy sounds' - for lack of a better description - when I'm re-filling the feeders. Sort of my way of letting the hummies know the fresh nectar is here. I'm also out in the yard a lot trying to take photographs...so I guess they are used to me too.

I like to use the kind of feeder that has a perch so the hummie can stand on and rest while it's feeding. It makes photographing them so much easier too!

However, I also have a bunch of the insulin bottle type I made - no perch on those...but they are my own creation and very colorful. They are also small enough to tuck amongst the vines on my trellises. The hummies seem to like them too - they empty them out quickly.

Either way, a hummie will perch on a nearby fence or branch to keep an eye on its territory (feeders). I have lots of windchimes and suncatchers around as well as the trellises where they like to sit and keep guard.

~ Cat

I'll have to let you know about how the hummzinger and perky pet compare. I just hung a hummmzinger next to a perky pet feeder.

Bob that is too cute.

I have come to the conlusion that,whatever the source, They will come.

Too funny Bob!!! Will have you know that sound just about brought the dogs running as quickly as when I make kissy sounds to call the hummies!!!

~ Cat

ps...considering the gazillion of hummies you already get at your place...I do wonder what would happen if you broadcast that sound on a loudspeaker outside of your house!!!

=^..^=

opinions and guesses:
I've never had a pp saucer feeder, but the plastic on my pp bottle feeders need replacing after a year or two. my hummzinger looks like it might last 10-20 years if taken care of well.
I think the benefit of an umbrella for a saucer feeder is to keep the rainwater out. a saucer feeder has no back pressure like an inverted bottle feeder does, it's just a bowl of nectar lying there.
changing feeder styles here last year confused some juveniles temporarily, but not the adult males. I think changing location would confuse them more than changing feeder style.
longer visits? perches? I don't know. put a container flower under the feeder that you can see from indoors? my folks did that, and said the birds go to the flower first, then the feeder. ?
my birds may not be afraid of a backhoe, but the adults split when I go outside. last year, the juveniles would hover right in my face, though. my folks have a sliding glass door, and it doesn't bother the hummers when you open it and go out. my door swings out, and it always startles the hummers. they have to determine that you are not a threat, but sudden movement may still startle them.

Thanks for all of the great and informative replys.
JD

I think Perky-Pet sells a knock-off of the HummZinger. About that model I know little, but one reason for HummZingers costing more is that they're made of better plastic. They withstand extended UV without cracking -- though the lids fade a little. If you drop one onto a tiled kitchen floor, it'll just bounce. And Aspects, Inc., will replace, no questions asked, any part that fails. A P-P that gets exposed to lots of sunlight will fall apart after a couple of years. At least the cheap models will. I've had it happen. FrankJ seems to get good service from his big P-Ps. Aside from my own satisfaction with HummZingers, I also have a personal liking for the guy who owns Aspects. I've talked to him on the phone. He's very interested in expert opinions and user reports. Does the guy who runs P-P give a @#$%? I don't know.

Aside from all that, there's a philosophy here that I don't understand. As hobbies go, hobbies that require some type of equipment, hummfeeding is very inexpensive. The main expense is sugar. The cost of feeders is almost trivial. You can surround your house with numerous feeders for easily less than $200, even using HummZingers. If you only have a few birds and a couple of 8 oz feeders is sufficient, you might be talking $30 -- tops. If someone really likes Perky-Pet, that's fine, but I don't understand nickle-and-diming something that is a very minor expense to begin with.

The perky pet copy of a humzinger (oassis) is junk I bought one several years ago and it broke and it has those stupid yellow flowers I don't even think they have an ant moat. Sarah

I simply do not personally care for saucer feeders. I sure hope aspects will make a small glass bottle feeder, because I wholeheartedly agree that they use superior plastic and design.

I bought some PP saucer feeders, the large ones at Lowes. I broke them trying to take the lids off after one use, the perches are very flimsy. I thougt at under ten bucks it looked like a nice feeder, but guess what I am taking them back.
Just buy the Humzinger's there made much better and only twice the price. There guaranteed for life, my hummers are worth the money.

IMHO the saucer feeders with their convenient perch entices the hummer to sit and stay awhile. My father uses bottle type feeders without perches and the hummers seem to sip and zip a lot faster. My hummers often just sit and look around after feeding, which makes for lots of photo ops. The disadvantage of the saucer feeder is that in a heavy downpour, the nectar gets diluted. But since I have a mini and it only holds 8 oz, I just make sure to put new nectar in after heavy rainfall.

Deb in PA

I just put up a Best-1 32oz bottle feeder today and it has a lot of the good features of the Hummzinger, but with larger capacity and more ports (8). The biggest plus is that the hummingbirds went to it right away and seem to like the perches. The Styrene is supposed to be tough and UV stabilized. The top of the dish part comes right off for cleaning just like a Hummzinger.

Bees and wasps check it out, but leave, which is a big relief. I don't know why they hang around on the Hummzinger and PPs, unless it's because the ports are larger and easier for them to get into, but they're real pests on those feeders and drive the hummers away. I wash them every morning to get sugar-water drips off and it doesn't help.

I, too, have the 32 ounce BEST type feeders. Only the newer ones have the double perch ring - and I have modified the older ones by cutting off parts of the perch ring to leave "T" perches at each feeder hole (based on that photograph that has circled this website of the hummie that slipped through the single ring and died).

Since the south Texas sun is so hot and our temperatures hover over 100 degrees most days this time of year I prefer to use the small insulin bottle feeders and test tube feeders I made. All that glass on those big 32 ounces jar really heats up in this weather and makes the nectar hot and spoil quickly.

I do bring out those 32 ouncers during the fall migration period...and hang about a dozen from my back porch eaves.

But for now...the little feeders are a riot to use :o) I can hang them anywhere!

Hummie using small insulin bottle feeder over the 32 ouncer:

~ Cat

All of my feeders are hanging under the branches of shade trees out of the sun, since light and warmth will encourage bacteria and/or mold in any feeder, regardless of whether it's plastic or glass. Rainwater helps that along, so the downward-pointing tubes you're using keep the nectar cleaner than any other type, but aren't practical if the hummingbirds consume a gallon of sugar-water a day.

In the past fifteen years, two or three 8 - 16oz feeders were plenty and uneaten nectar had to be dumped every third day or so. But I started planting more flowers last year and got the first breeding pair to take up residence. This year, with even more flowering plants, there was an unexpected population explosion. Now there are twelve feeders in the yard of seven different types/ brands and they all get used, though five are hung under what's become The Hummingbird Tree because of the crowd that prefers to feed there.

They're using both rings on the Best-1 as perches:

I purchased my first saucer feeder 5 weeks ago, the PP Oasis. For $9.98 at Lowe's, I figured, what the heck. So far, so good; and the hummers took to it right away. The only difference I've noticed is that the juvies have a hard time landing on the perches, why, I don't know; they don't have problems on the other cheapie feeders I have.

I only wish PP had a smaller saucer; I don't need 6 ports. Well, hopefully in a year or two I will ;)

I have a variety of feeders. Most of them are in a box on the shelf in the garage. After several years of experimenting I believe the easiest feeder to clean and keep filled is the Humzinger saucer feeder with the ant moat. Many of the other feeders developed black grime that was hard to clean out of the fake flowers and portals. Some attracted ants and I found them floating inside the bottle. Some feeders attracted so many yellow jackets that the hummers hardly had a chance to feed.
Over the years, I've planted more hummer friendly flowers and I have just the one feeder. This summer I think I've had more hummers that other years and that's probably due to more flowers than more feeders. That's just a hunch. VAL

My feeders all hang from small chains and have no built-in perches. I cut up and bent some coat hanger wire into an L shape with a hook at the top to hook thru the chain, and ran it thru the chains and then off horizontally to make a perch above each feeder.

Now instead of flying way over there somewhere to find a perch, they often sit on the coat hanger wire to rest and to protect the feeder from mauraders.

Gives me a real nice silouhette and much more viewing time than without thise homemade perches.

I've seen photos from the West of multiple hummers feeding at once. Here in Huntsville AL, only one at a time gets to eat. And s/he gets dive-bombed frequently by the others. Sometimes they seem to be aerial sword-fighting with their beaks. Neat!

Just sorry to think of their leaving some time soon.

But will enjoy them while they are here.

Jim

The Hummzinger feeders can't be beat. Easy to clean & nearly indestructable. I bought a new Hummzinger this year & noticed that my 4 year old Excel hadn't faded a bit!

Here is a link that might be useful: HummZinger feeders

I use the saucer-style, also -- can't beat the ease of cleanup.

JD, the birds get used to you with time. I have one of my feeders hung a foot from a sliding glass door to an outdoor deck. I can put my nose to the glass and watch them from a foot away without them spooking. They're tongues are really long when they're lapping away at the sugar water.

When I'm outside on the deck taking care of the potted plants, the locals (resident Annas) ignore me and feed off of plants I'm deadheading -- they're fearless. The tourists (migratory rufous) sensibly fly off and scold from nearby trees.

The Annas hang out here year-around, so they have more time to get used to us.

still looking for a source that sells in quantities just the bowl or saucer that would hold a wine bottle. Wouls appreciate any info you have.

Thanks