What this site is, and how it works

Backyard Hummers exists because most hummingbird advice online is copied from the same few pages, and some of it is actively wrong. We write one thing at a time, check it against the National Audubon Society, the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, and cooperative extension guidance, and say plainly where the evidence is thin.

What we cover

Practical guides for people who want to attract, feed, and enjoy backyard birds. Four topics:

• Hummingbirds — nectar recipes, feeder types, feeder care, seasonal timing.
• Cardinals — feeders, seed choice, backyard habitat.
• Bluebirds — nest boxes, mealworm feeding, predator guards.
• Feeders & gear — reviews and comparisons across feeder types.

We stay in our lane. We do not cover bird identification, migration science, or conservation policy — the National Audubon Society and the Cornell Lab of Ornithologyalready do that better than anyone.

How we research

This site is new, so it is worth being exact about what is behind a recommendation today.

1. Primary sources first. Nectar and feeder-care guidance is cross-checked against Audubon, the Cornell Lab, and university extension programs before we publish, and the sources are named at the foot of the article.
2. Products are compared on the record. Capacity, materials, how the body comes apart for cleaning, drip behaviour, and bee and ant defences — read from specifications and long-run owner reports, not from star ratings.
3. Hands-on testing is labelled as such. Where we have used a feeder ourselves we say so and say for how long. Where we have not, the recommendation is research-based and we mark it that way. We will not describe a product as "tested" that we have not tested.
4. Updates are dated. Guides get re-checked at least once a year. When a pick is discontinued or beaten, we swap it and the updated date at the top of the article moves.

How we make money

Backyard Hummers is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. When you buy through a link here, we may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you.

Commission rates play no part in what we recommend or in what order. If we would not put it in our own yard, it does not go in a list. The full affiliate disclosurehas the details.

What we won't do

• No sponsored content and no paid placements.
• No AI-written verdicts. AI helps with outlining and copy-editing; the recommendations are ours.
• No reprinted Amazon review text.
• No scraped live prices — Amazon's price at checkout is the one that counts.

Corrections

Found something wrong, or disagree with a pick? Tell us and we will fix it in the article and note the change. Write to hello@thebackyardhummers.com.