Interesting Facts about the Humming Bird Feeder

Many of us own or know people who own a humming bird feeder. But do you know the origins of the modern bird feeder, and how it came into being? Here's a few facts that you may find interesting.

Our modern bird feeder owes its existence to a gentleman by the name of Laurence J. Webster. One evening, as his wife was reading a magazine in their Boston home, she came across an article about hummingbirds being fed from small glass bottles. She showed the article to her husband, who felt he could improve on the process. The result was the first modern glass blown hummingbird feeder. The prototype was produces prior to 1936 and by the late forties had attracted a great deal of attention. By 1950, the Audubon Novelty Company of New York was offering Webster Bird feeders for sale.

As the years have passed, the popularity of the humming bird feeder has created a wide variety of designs.  Feeders are available in all shapes and sizes. No longer just a medium in glass, the humming bird feeder may be made of plastic, metal, or ceramics. Even the glass bird feeders have moved beyond the strictly utilitarian styling of its early years. The glass models come in many artistic stylings, rendered in just about any color one can think of.

The real beauty of a humming bird feeder is that it gives you the chance to enjoy part of nature even if you don't have a large yard or garden. The feeders can be suspended from the eaves of your home, attached to a post, or hung from a tree limb. Even if you live in an apartment or a small garden home, chances are you have a spot that is ideal for a humming bird feeder.

For more information about humming bird feeders, check out your local pet shop or garden center. You may see a bird feeder that would be ideal for your living space.