pm2: Mine is an 8 oz one from Wild Birds Unlimited. It's identical to humzinger in every way, even made for them by humzinger. They have a retail store near me and their feeder was a few $ cheaper than the brand name Humzinger. 8 oz is plenty for me because my birds will not allow more than one to feed at a time. I make nectar in larger portions and store in covered jar in the fridge. Only takes a minute for me to clean, refill, and rehang. Again, easy to clean and can even go into the dishwasher. I just use any old soap or spray cleaner. Someone above mentioned no soap but the manufacturer makes no such recommendation and I don't see how soap could be a problem as long as it's rinsed well. Karen Here is a link that might be useful: Wild Birds Unlimited

Speaking of birds, I just had quite an interesting encounter. I am trying to incorporate some very nice used carob bricks into my BBQ which is already built into some very large rocks adjacent to my pond. It is very challenging to try and meld the two materials together. I am totally engrossed trying to figure it out and out of nowhere comes a loud whoosh and a thud and an immature yet still very sizeable bald eagle flopping around at my feet. I'm not sure what attracted him, perhaps my koi but maybe he dove, saw me and tried to swoop out. He flew right into the glass rail of my deck and knocked himself cookoo. I calmly talked him through it until the cobwebs subsided and he was able to fly off to hunt another day. You talk about an adrenaline rush!!!!!! Here's a picture of the BBQ I was working on. I had just demo-ed the fake brick off the front when the eagle hit the glass panel on the deck stairs. Here is a link that might be useful:

Since last August I now live in W.Massachusetts but prior to that I lived in N.E. Ohio. According to the National Audubon Society Ohio has about 413 native species, which is the highest number in any of the states, and Michigan ranks #2 with about 400 species. In less than one year I managed to photo document 117 species in our yard and another 21 species at a small lake nearby. I saw a few more but I only officially counted the ones that I had photographed and had the identity confirmed by an ornithologist at the county extension service.

Ah yes, the Rufous Sided Towhee. Love 'em. They do scratch around like chickens and make a lot of noise. I have mostly the California Towhee here but occasionally a Rufous (Spotted) towhee will show up.