HummZinger HighView vs Ultra

Why this page exists

These two feeders sit next to each other on the shelf, look nearly identical, cost different amounts, and the listings do a poor job of explaining why. People buy the more expensive one assuming it is simply the better version. It is not — it is the bee-specific version, and for most yards the cheaper one is the right feeder.

Side by side

Nine rows identical, one row different. That is a genuinely unusual comparison to be able to write, and it makes the decision unusually clean.

What the tips change

A Nectar-Guard tip is a flexible collar seated in the port. A hummingbird’s bill pushes through it; a bee cannot open it and cannot reach past it. It is a physical barrier, which puts it in a different category from almost every other piece of bee advice in this hobby — most of which is deterrence, decoration or folklore. The full accounting is on how to keep bees off a hummingbird feeder.

What they do not change: ants. Ants are a water problem solved by a moat, and both feeders already have one. If crawling insects are your complaint, the tips are irrelevant and you should buy the HighView — see keeping ants out of a hummingbird feeder.

What the tips cost you

Two things, and both are small but real.

Money. The Ultra sits above the HighView in price for this one feature. We do not print remembered prices — the buttons above pull live figures or say to check — but the ordering is consistent: you are paying a premium for a component you may not need.

Cleaning. Sugar residue collects where each collar narrows, and a rinse will not clear it. The Ultra needs a port brush on every wash. The HighView benefits from one; the Ultra depends on one. If you buy the Ultra, buy a brush kit in the same order — a gummed-up tip is a blocked port, which is a worse outcome than the bees you bought it to solve.

How to tell which one you need

Do not guess from the listing photos. Look at your current feeder, or the spot where the new one will hang, and answer one question: are bees or wasps at the ports?

• No insects, or ants only. HighView. The moat handles ants and the saucer geometry handles the rest.
• Bees or wasps crowding the ports. Ultra. This is the situation the tips were designed for and there is no cheaper mechanism that works.
• First feeder, no history to go on. HighView. Insect pressure varies enormously by yard and season, and you can always add a feeder later. Buying the Ultra speculatively is buying a maintenance job for a problem you may never have.
• Bees and a busy yard. Neither, quite — you want the tips and more ports. The Ultra plus a second feeder elsewhere usually beats trying to solve both with one purchase. See how many feeders you need.

If you already own the HighView and bees have arrived

This is the common case, and buying the Ultra is not automatically the right first move. Work through it in this order.

1. Check whether the feeder is actually spilling. A saucer cannot drip by design, but it can still be spilled — overfilling so nectar sits at the port lip, or slopping down the side while refilling, leaves exactly the sticky trail that recruits bees. A swinging feeder on a long hook does the same. Fix that first, because if that is the cause, no port fitting will help while it continues.
2. Move it before you replace it. Insect pressure is intensely local. Twenty feet, a different aspect, or out of the direct afternoon sun is free to try and works often enough to be worth a week before spending anything.
3. Then consider the tips. Aspects sells Nectar-Guard tips as a separate part, so check compatibility with your exact model — that may be cheaper than a second feeder.
4. If you do buy the Ultra, keep the HighView. Do not retire it. Hang it somewhere the new feeder cannot be seen from, and you have solved the bee problem and added the second feeder that reduces territorial fighting in the same purchase. That is the best outcome available here, and it is the reason we suggest buying the cheaper feeder first in the general case — see how many feeders you need.

The thing both of them get right

Whichever you choose, you are buying the same underlying design, and it is the design this site recommends by default: a shallow dish with the nectar sitting below the ports. That is why neither feeder drips, why neither leaves a sticky trail for insects, and why both wash in about two minutes instead of ten.

That last point is the one that actually protects birds. Nectar needs changing every three to five days in moderate weather and daily when it is hot; a feeder that resists the schedule is a feeder that silently slips to fortnightly, and fermented nectar and port mold are what cause harm. The argument in full is on saucer vs bottle and how often to clean a feeder.

Full write-ups on each: the HighView review and the Ultra review. If neither size suits, the six-port Excel is the same line at 16 oz.