Should Hummingbird feeders be in the sun or shade

While hummingbirds won't mind a sun or shaded spot as much, its important to know the sun can spoil nectar, so shade is a priority.

Hummingbird feeders should be in the shade rather than the sun, as the heat can quickly ferment any nectar mixture within hours, and so can deter hummingbirds if it goes off. Locate feeder in a cool spot that remains inviting to birds, while offering the space needed for hummingbirds to discover.

Once you've found your ideal hummingbird feeder spot in your yard, keep an eye on the sun as you'd want to be sure to avoid the intense heat of the sun, during the day.

Little sunshine won't hurt but it can be a major issue if you are in a hot or humid climate all year round.

Hummingbird feeders are going to benefit your birds hugely, so don't go overboard in your quest to situate the feeders in shade for the entire day.

Best place to hang a hummingbird feeder in the shade would be on the side of a shed, garage - or the side of the house that is mostly in shade.

Of course, you'd need to observe safety proceedings to keep hummingbirds out of harms way. Be sure then to hang feeders on a bracket high up, or a tree that is in the cover of shade if no pests are around.

Hummingbird feeders can get very hot in the sun, and while hummingbirds may continue to feed - the nectar will quickly spoil. And you'll come to realize this as hummingbirds, including Orioles, tend to avoid the nectar.

I can only recommend you replenish the hummingbird feeders once or twice a day with fresh nectar, if shade in your yard is not within range.

Benefit to that is you can take advantage of swapping out nectar by giving the feeder a quick clean on the outside, thus deterring bees on the feeder while keeping the feeder exterior in the best possible condition for visiting birds, but hopefully in the shade.

Feeders in both sun or shade

Let's face it, for most of us its unrealistic to expect our hummingbird feeder to be setup in the yard where it receives optimum temperature throughout the day.

In fact, most of us can expect an equal share of the sun and shade.

What its likely to happen if the feeder is located near the house or a fence; the early morning sun will be missed and so will the feeder avoid the sun in the evening as its low on the horizon.

That certainly applies to late spring through summer, while the rest of the year, the matter of too much sun isn't going to be an issue.

Be sure to set up your hummingbird feeder close to structures, objects, trees or natural vegetation to void the heat of the sun at its strongest late morning to mid afternoon.

If you can, hang or locate your hummingbird feeder under the porch, or simply hang it off a branch of a tree offering a generous amount of shade.

Favor shade over sunshine

Its important to avoid your hummingbird nectar spoiling too soon in the plastic tube as you expose the homemade sweet sugary water to the heat of the sun all day long.

With that in mind its vital you locate the hummingbird feeder in a shaded spot in the backyard, for much of the day where the sun would normally shine.

Location can be hanging the feeder off a fence or wall between you and a neighbor, the side of a shed or garage that avoids sun for most of, or all of the day.

Meanwhile, a little imagination is required but you'd need to set up a hummingbird feeder where its never within reach of predators, such as cats.

For a bit of fun but under your watchful eye, you can place a hummingbird feeder on an outdoor table, yet remains in the shade as you observe at a distance - or why not tempt an hummingbird to feed out of your hand.

Favor shade over sunshine to avoid the nectar spoiling under intense heat, where it will ferment in a matter of hours; thus would become unsuitable for hummingbirds to feed, in which they'd show their disapproval by avoiding it.

Shade it must be then for most of the day, while a little sunshine isn't too much trouble providing direct sunshine is avoided for most of the day. Same technique applies to hanging all bird feeders to sustain food within them.

Heat can spoil nectar

How heat can spoil nectar inside your hummingbird feeder is where sugary water mixture you've made at home simply ferments.

Fermentation in nectar water is simply the process of sugar or nectar mixtures separating, thus the nectar is seen to have a white mist texture with tiny bubbles visible.

To allow nectar to ferment is simply due to the nectar water being in direct heat for a certain amount of time - and if its in the dead of summer you can expect the fermenting process to begin in hours, or much sooner.

Hummingbird feeders are made in a plastic or glass tubes after all, its therefore possible conditions internally can worsen due to condensation.

Nothing can be done at this stage to repair the spoiled nectar mixture, with only a replacement of fresh nectar water recommended.

Indeed, to avoid direct heat of the sun all day may not be enough in much hotter, more humid climates - as humidity can cause nectar water to ferment, even in a shaded spot.

Replace twice daily

Hummingbird feeders shouldn't be in the sun if you can avoid it, with only the shade almost guaranteeing the nectar mixture lasting longer.

And while a shaded spot can help most of us, heat can still kill off fresh nectar, thus it will spoil quickly regardless.

Answer to that is you must replace your homemade hummingbird nectar mix at least once a day.

In fact, what can be better than offering fresh nectar all day by swapping out nectar twice a day. Together with a quick clean of the hummingbird feeder to remove any mess left on the surface of the feeder.

I don't believe you can avoid the sun all together by only filling up the feeder once the sun as passed; hummingbirds are going to need to feed early in the morning to the afternoon, so don't miss their busiest feeding times.

Pick your moment, be sure to only refill or clean out the hummingbird feeder when no hummingbirds are present, or when the feeder is in use. And let's not forget, the small amount of water in the ant moat will need replenishing regularly, has it will quickly dry up in the heat, and more so in direct sunshine.

Safety of hummingbirds

Its not difficult to lose focus when attempting to find out if a hummingbird feeder should be in the sun or shade, as you quickly forget about safety of the wild birds.

Its possible then to locate a hummingbird feeder lower to the ground than expected, when a hummingbird feeder should ideally be positioned high up to avoid ground predators or pests.

I believe the best thing you can do when positioning a hummingbird feeder to avoid the heat, while favoring more of the shade is finding a high point, and sticking to it.

Best place of course would be hanging the hummingbird feeder off a bracket on a wall, or use a space on a bird feeding station.

Better still, but being wary about predators or pests that access a tree with ease, such as squirrels or raccoon's - is hanging a hummingbird feeder on a tree branch, to benefit with the abundance of natural shade all day long.

Safety of hummingbirds must come first when locating a feeder out of the sun, but in the meantime don't be tempted to experiment with different locations too frequently.

To summarize

Hummingbird feeders can indeed be both in the sun, or more precisely, under direct sunshine, or the shade.

Feeders that hold hummingbird nectar would need to be kept at a reasonable temperature, preferably cool - to avoid the nectar fermenting in the hot plastic tube.

Realistically, you are not going to avoid the sun all day long unless the feeder is around the corner, avoiding the sunshine in the process. While ideal, then you are likely to miss out when hummingbirds feed.

Instead, avoid the sun in the day while locating the hummingbird feeder near the house or backyard structure - to take advantage of the shaded spot.

Favor shade over sunshine every time, as you'll benefit with better kept nectar, making sure it lasts a day or too, rather than spoiling in only a few hours in direct sun.

Heat spoils nectar quite quickly, so its simply up to you to avoid the nectar getting too hot, or indeed to warm.

All can be avoided by replacing the nectar with a fresh mix once or twice a day.

Safety of hummingbirds should be your priority when finding a shaded spot, so place the feeder high up as possible when chasing the perfect more shaded area.

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