Perky Pet 221 Hummingbird Oasis Feeder, 16 oz capacity

Comment: Combined with the proper food, this product brought the hummingbirds the same day I hung it up!! It comes with a gold colored hook, about thee inches long, and can be hung (from your own hooks and accessories) anywhere you want! We put it under the gutter on the front porch. It is small enough to not distract from your yard and garden, but large enough to hold up to 2 cups of food. It has perches all around, and provides an awesome view of a hummingbird resting and eating, as well as plenty of chances to see them hovering all around it! The bottom pops off very easily to pour in the liquid, snaps right back together and seems to be very sturdy. A great product at a great price - just make sure you get the right food - a liquid three to one ratio seems to work the best.

Comment: I've had several hummingbird feeders over the past few years. They've either been pretty and leak or just too ugly. This has been a reasonable compromise. I prefer the colorful glass designs and this is plastic. I bought a similar unit at the local hardware store and it started fading immediately. This one has held it's color.

The design does suffer from tilting as the contents shift to the side the birds use the most. So if your OCD and will be bothered by the slight lean, keep looking.

It does not leak and cleaning and refilling are the easiest of any design I've seen.

The real test is the birds. They love this feeder and even show a slight bias over the cheaper, simliar product that's started to fade.

Comment: A very good feeder for a small bird population. Easy to clean and fill. The bright red seems to attract hummers as soon as it is hung. I would definitely buy this again.

Comment: I own several different types of feeders already and I am happy the birds seem to use all of them. But, it seems they are attracted to this one the most. It is priced reasonably and very easy to clean. The style also allows me to watch them drink from any angel. I give it 5 stars!

Comment: To get more apartment for our money, I dragged my wife to the SF Valley from LA's West Side, something she's still not 100% thrilled about. Of course, for what we'd be paying for 500 fewer square feet in the old neighborhood, we also get a huge deck on our fourth floor unit that allows me to container garden all kinds of goodies that are slowly bringing her around. About three months ago, she made a passing comment about getting a hummingbird feeder. She probably thought I was too busy tending to my veggies to pay attention, but I did. Oh, I did...

So, I did research and saw that everyone seemed to love this little Oasis feeder much more than fancier ones many times its price. I got it from a local hardware store, tethered a broomstick to the balcony railing, set this guy on top, and filled it with the Smithsonian recipe for hummingbird nectar (1 part white table sugar to 4 parts water brought to a boil and allowed to cool, excess stored in refrigerator [...]). Then I waited. Nothing.

This continued for several weeks, so I bought some petunias (known to attract hummers) and planted them in a horse trough next to the feeder. Nothing.

Still, I diligently cleaned the feeder and changed the solution at least once a week, letting optimism get the best of me (I am, after all, a Cubs fan).

Then, about four weeks ago, I was sitting at the desk in my home office, which looks right at the feeder, and I saw it: our first hummingbird. (To be fair, it might have only been the first I'd seen, but let me have this moment, OK?) The next day, I saw three different visits. My wife still hadn't seen one and was making me take pictures to prove I wasn't pulling her leg. She also admonished me to remind that birds that it would be polite of them to come by when she was there.

Cut to a few days later through now: Non-stop hummingbirds. Until about 11am and after about 4pm, I would say not more than 3 or 4 minutes go by between one of many little friends visiting us. In the midday, there might be 10-15 minutes between, but I'm writing this around 2pm and I've watched about six land since I started typing. Make that seven.

I think the really impressive thing is how I've gone from just trying to make my wife happy to really becoming enamored with the little guys. I now recognize regulars and just ordered a book so I can start identifying by species and sex. I might have also ordered a remote release for my SLR so I can set it up next to the feeder for some close-ups (though the hummers are surprisingly brave and will often visit when I'm literally a couple feet away tending to my garden). Hearing the little chirps announcing their arrival always gets my attention. Maybe most fascinating is realizing that these aren't necessarily the sweet little birds I thought they were and they can go a little nasty when getting territorial about the feeder. A three-way bird fight has become a common sight, making me think I might buy a second and put them at opposite ends of the deck.