I have a few feeders on my patio over each summer. I know that I have counted as many as 6 different birds at one time outside my patio doors. I go with the bigger sizes because I dont have to fill so often. I know it sitting too long will go stangnat and rancid, but I end up filling all of them about once a week. As to yellow flowers on feeders attracting bees? I know I have alot of bees on the feeders, yellow flowers or not. The feeder I have with all red and no yellow has as many of them on it as those with yellow do. I dont kno wenough about the birds to identify what type of hummer it is, some have te red spot some have green. Male adn female? differnt types? a few have all brown, various sizes as well. I have to keep the feeders abuot 10 feet apart as even though all of them have atleast 4 stations on them, the little buggers fight constantly ! one is chased away by another and then a third runs in behind to feed while the first two are off chasing each other around. I may well have 100 different birds a day, but I can only attest to ever seeing 8 at one time. My grandpas sister lived in Moab Utah. They had several feeders on the front porch and some mroe out in teh yard. One summer on a vacation trip I can remember seeing atleast 20 different birds at thier house at one time. Some place in long put away photo albums there are pictures of many of the hummers flying around the porch and at the feeders. Ill have to see if I can find them and maybe post some after a quik scan of the photos.

I've never noticed a hummer feeder in a neighboring yard, but I sometimes see my hummers fly out of the yard so I suppose there must be some somewhere nearby. But I have not only 4 feeders but plenty of flowers they seem to like, so they keep coming back. I seem to have 4 or 5 that are always around the yard. I figure that if more neighbors attract more hummers (or support babies as they mature and seek unclaimed food sources), I'm going to get most of them in my yard anyway. Heck, I would give my neighbors feeders if I thought they would use and maintain them!

1-3 times a week or so we get a bully at the feeder. He will perch on the tree branch right between the two feeders and chase all the other hummies away for hours. I'll sit down with the garden hose 10 feet away from the feeders and spray near (not directly at) the bully. This chases him away for only a few seconds. He will fly behind the fence and hide from my site, then immediately come after any hummingbird that comes near. I'll spray at the fence to make him relocate. He will persist and I keep on spraying till after 7-10 minutes he will give up. You would think 4-5 sprays would deter him, but it takes 20-25 times. Persistent little things! Please, Never spray directly at the bird because they are very fragile. Bully or not, we don't want to injur the little brat. He's got his reasons to guard the feeder, we just don't agree haha. Just spraying in his general direction is enough to shoo him away, and eventually make him give up.

Here in GA where it's 90°+ all day and often 80° all night I'm afraid the nectar will ferment if I leave for 10 days. Probably not in a week, but I change it twice a week to be sure during July and August. Also only keep nectar refrigerated for about a week. In the past I've made up a gallon and kept it for a couple of weeks but it started to turn a dark color and I didn't trust it. It still tasted okay, but since then I've only been making a half gallon at a time which is plenty for 2 fillings of 2 feeders. Whatever's left over dump it out and then a few days later make up a new batch for the next week.