Hummingbirds in winter

[jenjen]

I live in BC Canada and while we usually have fairly mild winters compared to the rest of the country, it gets cold enough for the hummers to migrate... or so I thought!

I've had 3 hummingbirds frequenting my small pond most of the winter. The past couple of weeks we've had an unusual amount of snowfall (2' on the ground, we rarely get more than 2") and these little guys have been around several times a day. Yesterday I decided to put out a feeder to help them out a bit. It only took them a few minutes to find it! Now I just have to figure out how to keep it from freezing. [emoji6]

 

[4FordFamily]

Wow that's nuts, where I live in Indiana we have only ruby-throated hummingbirds (in Canada you have the same species). A few years ago an Anna's hummingbird randomly stayed in Fort Wayne Indiana and was all over the internet.

I've not heard of hummers wintering anywhere this far north otherwise, let alone where you are. How on earth can they survive without your feeder??

You could probably add one of those pipe heaters to prevent pipes from freezing around the lowest part of the feeder you can and see if that works.

 

[dbl]

That's very cool.

 

[jenjen]

Wow that's nuts, where I live in Indiana we have only ruby-throated hummingbirds (in Canada you have the same species). A few years ago an Anna's hummingbird randomly stayed in Fort Wayne Indiana and was all over the internet.

I've not heard of hummers wintering anywhere this far north otherwise, let alone where you are. How on earth can they survive without your feeder??

You could probably add one of those pipe heaters to prevent pipes from freezing around the lowest part of the feeder you can and see if that works.

They're probably Anna's. I haven't gotten a good enough look to tell for sure, but they're the only species known to sometimes winter here (though I've never seen one). I can't help but think these guys are getting more than they bargained for!

Pipe heater is a great idea. I found some insulation in my husbands shop and have wrapped it in that for now. If it still freezes overnight I'll go that route for sure.

 

[4FordFamily]

They're probably Anna's. I haven't gotten a good enough look to tell for sure, but they're the only species known to sometimes winter here (though I've never seen one). I can't help but think these guys are getting more than they bargained for!

Pipe heater is a great idea. I found some insulation in my husbands shop and have wrapped it in that for now. If it still freezes overnight I'll go that route for sure.

I wonder where they come from, and what the heck they eat without feeders, I cannot imagine many keep feeders out!

 

[SandJ]

Awww, we love watching the humming birds. It seems like they would not survive with it being that cold.

We have screens on our windows. A hummingbird flew into the screen and its beak was stuck. I was able to free it with minimal damage to its beak. First time I had ever held one or been that close to one. Their feathers are amazing.

 

[4FordFamily]

Awww, we love watching the humming birds. It seems like they would not survive with it being that cold.

We have screens on our windows. A hummingbird flew into the screen and its beak was stuck. I was able to free it with minimal damage to its beak. First time I had ever held one or been that close to one. Their feathers are amazing.

I've had them fly in to my porch a few times and I've had to remove them much the same. Beautiful, tiny birds!

 

[Tom Blevins]

We keep our slider open with no screen for our bull terrier and they come in the house for the orchids in the kitchen just crazy how they sound in the house!
it's like BAA BAA Black Sheep! OK dating myself now.

 

[4FordFamily]

We keep our slider open with no screen for our bull terrier and they come in the house for the orchids in the kitchen just crazy how they sound in the house!
it's like BAA BAA Black Sheep! OK dating myself now.

That's pretty cool! As a kid one year we had so many there were literally half dozen to dozens at a time feeding. I sat close enough to the feeder and kept inching closer as they became comfortable until the point I could literally hold the feeder in my hand and they would come!

 

[ebushrow]

Humming birds do not necessarily migrate. They have the ability to go into Torpor as do chickadees and bats.....its a type of short hibernation that slows down the bodily functions to prevent starvation. Still really cool to see in the winter!

 

[4FordFamily]

Humming birds do not necessarily migrate. They have the ability to go into Torpor as do chickadees and bats.....its a type of short hibernation that slows down the bodily functions to prevent starvation. Still really cool to see in the winter!

That is cool but surely they can't go 5 months without feeding? By mid September here in central Indiana they're all gone and my feeders are devoid of life

 

[miyags]

Same here, september.I never knew they stuck around. Could you just bring the feeder in at night?. Great picture!!

 

[4FordFamily]

Most don't know I'm a wild bird nerd, too. I can identify most local species by call. My grandmother got me in to that as a child!

My favorite feeder visitors were a pair of Pileated woodpeckers at my townhome very near downtown Indianapolis. Never would have guessed. My new place is much more suburban and yet I've never seen nor heard them here.

I do have a plethora of bluebirds here that breed in my nest boxes and within minutes of offering freeze dried mealworms they flocked the feeder and haven't let up since!

 

[ebushrow]

That is cool but surely they can't go 5 months without feeding? By mid September here in central Indiana they're all gone and my feeders are devoid of life

I typically see them in Michigan through mid to late October....I agree 5 months doesn't really seem possible...but I am not an ornithologist....maybe someone else here could confirm or deny this could happen though.

 

[4FordFamily]

I just read an article about how Anna's hummingbirds feed on a much higher proportion of insects and other small protein sources in winter which would explain them heading this direction perhaps. It suggests spiders are a staple and because of their heavier bodies than most hummingbirds and how much slower these proteins metabolize that they can occasionally survive winters.

I don't know why they would go East though unless we have more winter bugs/spiders. They're strictly west coast, or so we thought!

 

[miyags]

I"ve been trying to get hummingbirds to stick around my yard for 3years know, with no luck. They just visit the feeder every now and then. One brown one. one brown and red,like the picture and one that's metalic green.

 

[mta_morrow]

Most don't know I'm a wild bird nerd, too. I can identify most local species by call. My grandmother got me in to that as a child!

My favorite feeder visitors were a pair of Pileated woodpeckers at my townhome very near downtown Indianapolis. Never would have guessed. My new place is much more suburban and yet I've never seen nor heard them here.

I do have a plethora of bluebirds here that breed in my nest boxes and within minutes of offering freeze dried mealworms they flocked the feeder and haven't let up since!

I am a bird nut as well. I'm near Dayton, OH. We have a pileated which you can hear coming from a mile away. During this time of the year we have a visiting northern flicker and a lot of junco's. Our regulars include red bellied, Downy, and Hairy wood peckers. Nut hatches, titmouse, and Carolina wrens. and a never ending supply of finches, sparrows, and chickadees.

 

[mfinn]

I have a small flock of Anna's in my area and I have been keeping 2-3 feeders outside for them.
On days when the temps have stayed below freezing I've had to rotate feeders to keep the sugar water liquid.
I've seen pictures of people wrapping their feeders with low power x-mas lights to keep the feeders from freezing.

 

[Lionfish Lair]

I have 3 feeders and I adore my hummers. I live in California, so I don't have to worry about the winter but worry when it gets chilly.

 

[jenjen]

I just read an article about how Anna's hummingbirds feed on a much higher proportion of insects and other small protein sources in winter which would explain them heading this direction perhaps. It suggests spiders are a staple and because of their heavier bodies than most hummingbirds and how much slower these proteins metabolize that they can occasionally survive winters.

I don't know why they would go East though unless we have more winter bugs/spiders. They're strictly west coast, or so we thought!

This is interesting! Probably why they like my pond.. it's always surrounded by spider's webs and all kinds of little bugs. Hopefully the feeder will keep them going until the snow moves along!