Hummingbird's in Winter

As anyone who lives in the Pacific Northwest knows, we've had about a week of what is considered cold weather around here with the high temperatures for the last couple of days not even getting above freezing.  Some people may not realize that although most hummingbirds migrate south for the winter, we have one species of hummingbird, the Anna's hummingbird that lives around the Puget Sound area year round.  They eat insects as well as nectar so usually manage to ok finding food since there are some winter blooming flowers and it is usually warm enough that there are a few bugs around.  Not so, this week and because of the low temperatures they need more food that usual to stay warm.

Male Anna's Hummingbird - a year round resident of the Puget Sound area

The nectar in my hummingbird feeder was freezing even during the day and I had up to 3 hungry hummers at a time buzzing it.  I kept bringing it inside to warm it back up and would look out my kitchen window to find them looking in at me as if to say "hey lady, where's our food?"

An old friend who used to be my neighbor also feeds the hummers and shared her trick for keeping the nectar from freezing and also provide the birds with a little warmth.  She clamps a utility light above her feeder.  Since I lack imagination, but am a great copycat, I adopted her idea and it works like a charm.  (Thank you, Sue!)

Here is a photo of my set-up:

Keeping my hummingbird nectar thawed

If you look closely at the photo you can see the blur of male hummingbird to the right side of the feeder.  Since taking the photo, we made some adjustments to the length of the wire holding the feeder to shorten it up and keep it closer to the heat of the lamp.  Another tip I read somewhere was that it is ok to increase the amount of sugar in the nectar to 3 parts water to one part sugar.  (Normally it is 4 parts water to one part sugar).  The birds can use a little extra energy boost in the cold weather and the added sugar helps to lower the freezing temperature.  Remember to always just use regular granulated sugar - NO HONEY, NO ARTIFICIAL SWEETENERS!  There is also no need to add red food coloring - as you can see, the hummers find the red feeding ports and don't need the food coloring.  No one knows for sure if the food coloring could be potentially harmful, so why use it?

Here's another photo of a happy hummer looking at me:

Male Anna's Hummingbird at a Hummingbird Feeder

As long as we're talking about hummingbird feeders, the one in the photo is the same model as the one below.   And the type of light I've used to keep it warm is just an inexpensive utility lamp like the one below:

It is the model I prefer and I think the hummers like it, too.  They seem to the perches as you can see the hummingbird in the photo is using one.  I like them because most of it is glass (other than the bottom with the feeding ports) instead of plastic so they don't get discolored or leach any unhealthy chemicals into the nectar.  I usually just run my feeders through the dishwasher, after inspecting the inside to make sure there isn't any mold.  This is also a good size - the feeder should be cleaned and fresh nectar added at least once a week - so usually my nectar runs out before it gets stale which makes it easy for me to remember to always replace it frequently.

Rufous Hummingbirds are Arriving

Some of the first signs of spring are starting to appear in the Pacific Northwest.  Daffodils and crocus are starting to bloom and our native red-flowering currant (ribes sanguineum) is starting to bloom in some of the warmer more sheltered areas.

Red-flowering Currant - Ribes Sanguineum

Ribes sanguineum is one of  our most brilliant and beautiful blooming shrubs and an added bonus is that their bloom time is closely synchronized with the return of our spring and summer visitor, the gorgeous rufous hummingbird.

Male Rufous Hummingbird (Selasphorus rufus)
Photo courtesy of  Velo Steve on Flickr  - creative commons license

An interesting website where you can follow the progress of their migration is called Field Notes - the Journey North

If you want to attract these gorgeous little birds as the migrate and perhaps encourage them to stay around for the summer, consider planting a few red-flowering currant or other ribes genus plants.  They are often available in nurseries.

  Ribes is the genus of both currants and gooseberries.  Currants and gooseberries are usually early spring bloomers and many have  attractive flowers and some also have delicious edible fruit after the flowers fade away.  For more information, here is an article about growing Spring Blooming Ribes

Of course the currants and gooseberries are also enjoyed by our year-round resident Anna's hummingbird, too.

Male Anna's Hummingbird (Calypte anna )                      

Photo credit: Tyler Karaszewski on Flickr - Creative Commons License

Of course another way to attract hummingbirds is with hummingbird feeders.  Use 1 part sugar to 4 parts water and boil for a few minutes to dissolve the sugar.  Do NOT use brown sugar, honey or artificial sweeteners.  Red food coloring in NOT necessary if the feeder itself has a red color.  Food coloring be harmful.  Be sure to throw away any remaining nectar every few days, clean the feeders and refill with fresh nectar.  A week's supply of nectar can be made up and refrigerated for a week.  Please don't hang feeders or plant flowers and shrubs that attract hummingbirds within the reach of cats.   Cats can, and do catch and kill many hummingbirds each year.

This is my favorite hummingbird feeder. The glass is fairly easy to clean and can be run through the dishwasher or boiled to sterilize. The hummingbirds seem to enjoy the perches by each feeding station because they certainly use them.  Again the red food coloring shown in the photo is NOT NECESSARY.  I never use red food coloring and the hummingbirds find and use my feeders just fine.