Customer Reviews

Garden Ballet 26004-1 Hummingbird Feeder Mobile

5 star:		(32)
4 star:		(18)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

I would highly suggest you DON'T buy this feeder if you want to attract AND FEED hummers. It is just too delicate, cannot withstand any wind, cheap hooks and hummers have a difficult feeding from it because the holes are hard for them to find. I have scads of hummers in my yard in the summer and they don't like this feeder(they will go to my other feeder and avoid this one). They like my strawberry feeders best and my larger red feeder with yellow flowers on it because they can see where the flowers are and they like to sit down. So two thumbs down on this feeder.

Recently I purchased the Garden Ballet Hummingbird Feeder Mobile. The look is everything I expected and more. I hung it from a huge limb on my oak tree by a window using 40 pound test fishing line. It was up for about six weeks when the squirrels chewed the line and it dropped to the ground breaking one of the globes all to pieces and cracking another. The cracked globe will still hold liquid but will eventually break now that it has been cracked. It is such a beautiful sculpture which also has a function. But, it now looks incomplete and doesn't hang as well. I'm also disappointed that the "hooks" are nothing more than very light weight wire shaped in a circle which to me is inappropriate for the weight and delicacy of the glass globe, not to mention the price of the mobile which will inevitably be destroyed by it's own design flaw.

This looks so much nicer than the plastic feeders I have. It is also easy to clean and fill. Please note that the nectar jars are actually clear with red bottoms, not all red like the picture implies. I only use sugar water (1 part sugar to 4 parts water) in my feeders, and the red on this feeder is enough to attract the birds without adding potentially harmful red dyes. The jars are also far enough apart that I occasionally see more than one bird on the feeder at a time - hummingbirds don't like to share and will chase others away from closer feeding ports. Highly recommended.

I was concerned that the birds would not come to the feeder because of the concealed feeding holes, but I brewed my first batch of nectar a little stronger as the instructions recommended and they were feeding within an hour of putting it up. I have another feeder - a traditional one - in another part of the yard, which they prefer (it has the resting arms that the other reviewer recommends) but this is a nice alternative for the birds that are chased away from that feeder. Because of the complex structure of the mobile, I've not had any trouble with ants at all, as I do with my other one! It's also amazingly easy to clean. I've found with other feeders, the little plastic flowers eventually break off. The glass globes can even be washed in the dishwasher (but be sure to rinse them afterwards to get rid of any detergent residue that can harm birds).

I purchased this Garden Ballet Hummingbird feeder mobile in mid-August 2002 to reduce the competition between hummers in my eastern Kansas backyard. I don't live in the country, so my first feeder, a 4 station bottle type, did not attract any birds until August 8, which is pretty late in the season. Setup was very easy and I had it hanging from a branch 20 minutes after I opened the box. I used plyers to close the wires and s-hooks, taking care not to snap the tops of the globes. Assembly instructions are very sparse, but there's a good picture on the box that shows how it should look. I took a zoom picture of a male rubythroat drinking from the mobile feeder while hovering (no perch). Too bad I can't include it here. I rate it 4 instead of 5 based on the the birds preference for my other feeder with perches. To be fair, though, they are used to the old feeder.

I bought the feeder last year because it was different from the other feeders on the market and had an "artisy" look about it. For the most part, it is easy to use and to keep clean. I did notice on the 85+ degree days, which fortuntely isn't too often here, a problem with the nectar dripping out of the feeders. I think its because the holes are so low on the feeder. Could be a huge mess in warmer climates. You would definately have to keep it out of direct sunlight.

This is a terrible feeder that does not take into account the actual feeding habits of hummingbirds. Hummingbirds are highly inefficient fliers, and they prefer to rest frequently while feeding. This feeder offers no place for the birds to rest, and in the slightest breeze, the constant movement of the hanging globes makes it even more difficult for the birds to feed. Although it looks nice, the feeder is terrible for hummingbirds. Opus makes a different feeder that presents the birds with a ring on which to rest while feeding. That feeder should be purchased without hesitation over this "mobile-type" feeder. Please remember--do not add red dye to your hummingbird food! These wonderful little birds can be highly sensitive to such dyes, and you could inadvertently hurt the very creatures you are trying to attract. The red plastic is enough to attract them. Also remember to change the food every few days, especially in the heat, as the sugar will ferment.

When I received these feeders as a gift I was worried about the negative reviews I saw on this site. I removed my old feeders and put up the mobile and saw NO hummers for several weeks.

Then, I put my ugly old Hummzingers back up and lefy the Feeder Mobile up as well. The hummers came back! To my huge surprise and delight, the hummers now love the mobile and choose to go to it more often than they do the 2 Hummzingers which allow them to perch when they feed.

To make filling and carrying the glass globes easier - set the globes in a cupcake tin. Always hang the center feeder first.

First of all, this is more of an art piece than a bird feeder. The birds do seem to enjoy it, but it isn't the easiest for them to find. This was a bigger feeder than I anticipated, which was a pleasant surprise. Make sure you find a good place where there is plenty of room to hang it, but that it is still easy to reach for refilling. The only drawback I found was the filling isn't as easy as I had hoped, it's a little bit more tricky than other feeders. Still a wonderful feeder, and a joy for the garden regardless.

Although this is a very pretty feeder and does attract hummingbirds it is very messy - leaks nectar almost constantly (and I have hanging in front of my kitchen window over the porch - so makes a big mess on the porch) The guidelines say to hang in a protected area but needs to be where the nectar will not make such a mess.