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

bizzarbazzar, There are lots of sites that give information about hummingbird breeding ranges, etc. Just try googling Montana, hummingbirds, range maps, etc etc. From what I can see, the major species of breeding hummingbirds in Montana are the Calliope and Rufous. There are also Broad-tailed breeding in the west, and Black-chinned, plus occasional ruby-throats, as well, up in the north central part. Anna's and Costa's are listed as transients. Take a look at this website, and you will find range maps for the various hummingbirds found in Montana. It's a government, fish and wildlife type site, so they ought to know. I'm not sure where you are in Montana, but I hope it's in the west. There just don't seem to be many hummingbirds at all in the southeast and central parts of the state. They're mostly found in the mountainous west. Some advice about the website--I found that if you used the search feature, the site got flaky. It's best to just click on the species, and you should be able to get a range map. If you go to the bottom of the page and click on "Montana Bird List," then click on "General Search" on the left, you will get to a query page that will allow you to scroll down to whatever species of bird you want, then track down more specific sighting information. The results will display code letters for the type of sighting--Direct evidence of breeding, Indirect evidence of breeding, transient, overwintering, etc. If you're really intensely interested, you might consider wading through this query feature. Otherwise, just read the info, look at the range maps, and see what species might be seen in your area. Here is a link that might be useful: Montana hummingbird ranges

I just read in Birds & Blooms magazine that hummers start feeding as early as 45 minutes before daybreak. So I watched the feeders and sure enough a male was feeding yesterday when it was just barely light enough to see him. Saw him again this evening when it was nearly dark. They are starting to fight over the feeders which always makes an intersting show!

I have the same base as in the first picture. I fill it from the top when washing and then dump it out by tipping it over. If the bottom comes off I haven't picked up on that. I also have a similar hanging setup as in the second shot - where the feeder also appears to be getting pushed to the side by wind, as often happens at this time of the year where I live. When it is gusty here the feeder is soon emptied by the wind action. So that I suspect you are having the same problem.