A New Bedford Porch Is Not The Best Spot For A Hummingbird Feeder

For many years my wife and I owned a home in New Bedford. Our front and back yards were small but had enough room for trees. In addition to shade, the trees provided space for birds to hang out. I loved seeing and hearing the birds and missed them when they, not I, had enough sense to head south for the winter.

Several years ago, when the family began to shrink, we sold the house and found a comfortable apartment that better suited our needs. I thought one of the sacrifices of apartment living would be losing my feathered friends. Not true.

Our apartment has plenty of trees nearby and with them, lots of birds. There are more birds and many more species than we enjoyed when we had our yards. Among them are hummingbirds.

I don't recall ever having seen a hummingbird up close before moving to the apartment, but they are plentiful here in the summertime. It seems whenever I sit on our deck to read or enjoy the sunshine, the hummingbirds pay a visit, often mistaking our deck lights for flowers.

Because I enjoy these regular visits so much I have considered buying a hummingbird feeder for the deck. Many folks near me have traditional feeders that attract all sorts of birds. However, after a bit of research, I quickly determined that a hummingbird feeder on a small porch or deck in New Bedford or anywhere else is not a good idea.

Country Living says 90 percent of a hummingbird's diet is sugary nectar. The publication suggests you "mix refined white sugar and boiling water until sugar is dissolved" and let it cool for homemade nectar to place in your hummingbird feeder. You can also purchase ready-to-use hummingbird food in bottles.

Nectar, whether store-bought, homemade or natural, is sticky. It can be messy. BobVila.com says, "Ants, bees and wasps, unfortunately, all enjoy sugar water just as much as hummingbirds."

The site recommends cleaning the bird feeder frequently and changing the food often as it spoils rapidly.

Watching hummingbirds can bring great joy to a lot of people but if you have only a small porch or deck and no yard and you don't want to deal with ants, bees, and wasps, a feeder might not be a good idea.

It seems to make sense to hang a hummingbird feeder away from the house and watch from a distance.