Bird feeders bring much joy and very much connect people, especially us living in more urban areas, with nature. Hummingbird feeders need to be carefully maintained so that the sugar water does not go bad, but bring much delight. You can combine bird feeding with local plants by planting shrubs or trees that have berries. Birds that do not come to a feeder for seed will perch on a branch for an old berry. Yesterday for the first time there was a downy woodpecker sitting on the feeder. Sparrows came and went while woodpecker looked up and down. Finally he grabbed a sunflower seed and flew off. I like to think the feeder helped that bird through a tough time.