Steve just want to thank you for the info on the ant moat. The ants were driving me crazy mostly because whenever I brought my feeders in to clean I had to chase ants around the sink that were in the feeder spouts. Well I made the ant moat and the ants are gone. You're right, for the first day it was funny watching them go, turn around and go down and back up again. It was like they thought they were lost and took the wrong turn. Thanks again.

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 hope you get well soon. I had bronchitis earlier and just couldn't get rid of it. It will probably be a little longer for us but at least any that pass through on their way across the river will find some nourishment. Although today sure does feel like a hummer of a day! Penny

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hummingbird "They also typically consume more than their own weight in food each day, and to do so they must visit hundreds of flowers daily. At any given moment, they are only hours away from starving." "stores up fat to serve as fuel, thereby augmenting its weight by as much as 40Â50 percent and hence increasing the bird's potential flying time" Rockport has tons of them in September as they migrate from the east to west towards MX for the winter. http://www.rockporthummingbird.com/