I think alot depends on the type of feeder too. I had two different types, one of those in the cedar holder then the one like in my picture I posted back aways. The one in the cedar never got used, even when they had emptied the other. I finally got rid of it and bought another like the one in the picture. It was the first year I had feed hummingbirds, but I had tons of them. They were very fun to watch. They are very aggressive little birds, dive bombing each other as they would try to feed. My cat would be laying there watching them, but they didn't seem to be afraid of him. Very brave:). I'd sit out there in the mornings drinking my coffee and they would come real close and hang in the air in front of me and watch me. Even would fly down and check out the dog.
The flower in my garden that I noticed they liked the best was red sylvia.
Becky
Oh, and something else I learned. The ones I feed liked the brand of feed that I bought in liquid form. I got it at Wal mart and it's called Liquid Nature, or First nature, something like that. It's a concentrate you mix with water. No cooking or stirring very easy to use. One time when I had to buy a different kind, they stopped coming around. But then I got some more and they came back. So the type of feed you use must make a difference.
I've heard that using just sugar water is not good. It doesn't contain any nutrients. the birds will get deficent in things and die. I don't know if that is true or not, but it made sense to me.
becky