The Right Height To Hang Your Hummingbird Feeder In The Garden

To attract the often colorful and zippy hummingbird to your yard, don't set out your nectar feeder in just any old place. Hang a hummingbird feeder too low to the ground, and you'll put the birds close to potential yard-stalking predators like your pet cat. Hang it too high, and the wind could whip it around. This can make it challenging for the bird to land on and drink from, discouraging the bird from using it.

What's the best height to hang your feeder? Ideally, you want to hang the feeder between 4 and 6 feet off the ground. Pick a shady spot, as the nectar can easily spoil, especially in direct sunlight. If you don't have a lot of shade, you can cool down your yard by planting this stunning, fast-growing shade tree.

Hummingbirds typically look for food lower to the ground, as they spend a lot of time hovering near or just above flower height, so less than 6 feet is an ideal height. They're attracted to bright flowers with sweet nectar, with a list of tubular flowering plants among their favorites, as they're perfect for the small birds' long beaks. One study, published in the Global Change Biology journal, implied blooms aren't the only reason new generations of hummingbirds seem to be sporting longer beaks. This study suggests that hummingbirds may be evolving longer beaks because that makes them more adept at getting nectar from our backyard feeders. 

When putting up a hummingbird feeder, height is important, but there are other concerns as well. Keep in mind that hummingbirds can get territorial. While we know the feeder is an endless supply of sugar water, the birds don't realize that. To them, it's a flower that could run out of nectar at any time, and it's a valuable resource that needs to be fiercely protected. 

So if you don't want any hummingbird fights, then put out a few feeders in your yard to keep everyone happy.  Keep them at least 15 feet apart, since hummingbirds often fight each other over their favorite feeders or flowers, especially when blooms are scarce. Don't forget to keep hummingbirds safe by only using one type of sugar in your DIY nectar: white table sugar. It most closely mimics the nectar of flowers.

Of course, if you hang your feeder too high or too low, the best sugar water in the world won't matter if the hummingbirds can't find it. Keep the feeder where hummingbirds look for food – no higher than 6 feet from the ground. Hanging your feeder in close reach for you also will make it more convenient to change often, an important safety step you should never skip. Changing out the sugar water every day or two will keep dangerous mold and bacteria that can make hummingbirds sick from growing in the feeder.