How to Make an Easy Hummingbird Feeder Umbrella + Dollar Tree Hack

Create an umbrella for your hummingbird feeder with this simple and affordable hack! This easy DIY takes less than 5 minutes and serves as a weather guard for your feeder, providing shade from the sun and preventing rain from diluting your hummingbird nectar.

Happy August!

Are you a hummingbird lover?

I always look forward the return of Ruby-throated Hummingbirds in early April.

Our hummingbird sightings have been spotty at the lake this year, but plentiful in the NC mountains!

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August is when we see peak activity at our feeders, as juvenile hummingbirds are fledging and adult hummingbirds begin feeding in earnest with fall migration on the horizon. August is also HOT, so some shade over your hummingbird feeder can help slow down nectar spoilage.

I purchased a couple of these umbrellas a couple of years ago, but they’re on the smaller side and don’t provide much in the way of shade or shelter from the rain.

Here are the easy steps if you’d like to make an affordable hummingbird umbrella / weather guard.

I’ve included two methods, which take less than 5 minutes!

I started with a colander from Dollar Tree, which provides a large red target to attract hummingbirds, but you could use any large plastic bowl.

The most time consuming part of this DIY was searching the thousands of fasteners at Lowe’s for eye bolts and corresponding coupling nuts! I searched until my eyes were crossing, 😵 as I was looking for a black finish to blend with my shepherds hook, but there were plenty of choices in zinc or stainless steel.

  I ended up buying two different sizes. . . a 4-inch and a 2 1/2-inch length. The longer the length, the longer the drop from the umbrella to your feeder. In hindsight, the shorter, the better. The eye bolts cost a couple of dollars each, along with the coupling nuts.

Next I drilled a hole in the center of the colander for the eye bolts.

After drilling your hole, insert your eye bolt through the top, attaching your coupling nut on the underneath side. Thread your eye bolt into the coupler on the underside of the colander until secure. Depending on your feeder’s design, you may need to use an s-hook to hang it, or use a threaded hook and coupler fitting.

If you need s-hooks, these are also handy for hanging pots and pans or closet organization; they’re also available in stainless steel.

3.7 Inch Black S-Hooks

Method 2:

Use a zip tie to save yourself the trouble of searching for hardware, no drilling of holes required!

Just feed your zip tie through the existing holes in the colander and secure it underneath.

Use an s-hook to hang your feeder from the loop created underneath,

less than a 2-minute DIY that’s under $2 including the colander!

In hindsight, $6 worth of hardware for a $1.25 colander is overengineering ;)

especially when the zip tie method works just fine!

We had a surprise visitor, a Pipevine Swallowtail butterfly, at the hummingbird feeder last week.

Fun hummingbird facts:

There are 320 species of hummingbirds, but only one, the Ruby-throated Hummingbird, can be found east of the Mississippi River in the U.S. In terms of area however, Ruby-throated Hummingbirds occupy the largest breeding range of any of the North American hummingbird species.

Hummingbirds are a prolific pollinator of flowers! Ruby-throated Hummingbirds deposit 10 times as much pollen as bumblebees.

Hummingbirds like flowers that produce a lot of nectar, such as bee balm, salvias, weigela, trumpet honeysuckle and other trumpet vines, cardinal flower, petunias or anything that is tubular in shape.

Male Ruby-throated Hummingbirds have a brilliant iridescent red throat; females are greenish, with a white throat and a notched tail, while juvenile males resemble adult females.

Adult males have pointed, all-dark tail feathers and a forked tail. Females, and juvenile males, have rounded tail feathers with white tips on the outer three pairs. Additionally, the female’s tail is slightly longer and more rounded when perched.

While a small number of Ruby-throated Hummingbirds will winter in Florida and along the Gulf coast, most will overwinter in Central America. You have to be a fearless flyer to make a nonstop flight of more than 500 miles across the open waters of the Gulf of Mexico! It also means that hummingbirds need to double their body mass with a steady diet of nectar and insects prior to their migration in the fall.

Hummingbirds’ wings move in figure-eight patterns, allowing them to hover in midair and fly backwards. Their wings beat more than 50 times per second, requiring them to feed every 10 to 15 minutes.

Hummingbird nectar is easy to make, mixing in a ratio of 1 : 4, sugar to water.

Plain white table sugar mixed with water mimics the chemical composition of natural nectar.

* Do not use organic, natural, or raw sugars as they contain levels of iron that could be harmful.

Also, do not use honey, which can cause fermentation, promoting bacteria and fungal growth.

Avoid red dye in your sugar water which may be harmful to hummingbirds.

Note: Red hummingbird feeders in this post are red glass, not filled with red dye.

Boiled tap water is the preferred water to use. Using boiled water removes any potentially harmful bacteria, chlorine, fluorides, etc. that hummers don’t need. I mix up a quart at a time (1 cup of sugar and 4 cups of water). After the sugar is dissolved and has cooled, I store it in the fridge to have on hand for quick refilling.

Nectar spoils quickly in hot weather so clean your feeder every time you refill. Avoid soap to clean your feeders as hummingbirds can taste the soap/detergent residue. To clean and kill bacteria and mold in your hummingbird feeder, use a bleach/water mixture, mixing 1 part bleach to 10 parts water, filling your feeder and allowing the bleach water to stand 15 minutes. Rinse well and allow to air dry before refilling.

I discovered Hummingbird Feeder Fresh Nectar Defender a couple of years ago, which slows down spoilage!

Feeder Fresh is an all-natural product that protects the freshness of hummingbird nectar and is safe for hummers. It uses a micronutrient, copper, naturally consumed by hummingbirds in their diet of nectar and insects.  A bottle will last an entire season as you only need 1 tablespoon per quart of nectar; I add it to my batch of nectar after it has cooled. It says it will keep your nectar fresh in hot weather up to 2 weeks.

 Note: Even with the addition of Feeder Fresh, I don’t go longer than a week before cleaning and refilling my feeders, but it does allow me to feel the nectar is safe in hot weather and I can skip the every 2 – 3 day cleaning / refilling.

It’s a myth that leaving hummingbird feeders up too late in the fall will prevent the birds from migrating. Hummingbirds have an internal clock regulated by the changing day length, which lets them know when it’s time to go. As a general rule, leave your feeder up for two weeks after you’ve seen your last hummingbird, as there might be one or two stragglers migrating in need of a rest stop to refuel.

Ant moats are a chemical-free way to keep your feeders free of ants, as only water is required in the moat. You do have to be diligent about refilling them with water due to evaporation in the heat of summer.

If you’re looking for a sturdy shepherd hook pole for your hummingbird feeder, we’ve been really pleased with this one:

92-inch Shepherds Hook Bird Feeder Pole with 7 Prong Base

 { 4.6 out of 5 stars with 3,450 global ratings }

Have you had a problem with bees swarming your feeders and keeping the hummingbirds away? I had a problem last year so I set aside a feeder for the bees  and switched to hummingbird feeders with bee guards. I also like that all the pieces come apart for easy cleaning!

Perky-Pet Glass Hummingbird Feeders with Perches, Ant Moat and Bee Guards

 { 4.1 out of 5 stars with 18,310 global ratings }

Are you seeing and feeding hummingbirds in your neck of the woods?

Hope you’re finding a way to stay cool and beat the heat. ♥

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 Metamorphosis Monday