Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
There are areas of the country where hummingbirds overwinter that sometimes have below freezing temps.
Sugar water freezes.
There are also hummingbirds that roam and end up in inhospitable cold areas during fall/winter and no one is exactly sure why. But they are out of their range and can sure use a little help before they figure it out.
I had one of these in 2009. Most people rig up christmas flood lights, chicken heater lights in all manner of set ups to keep the sugar water from freezing.
This year there is a heater option avail to purchase that looks much easier to use, no rigged set ups (mine was a christmas flood light spiked into a patio pot of dirt up on a step ladder with a homemade aluminum reflector made from a couple of aluminum roast pans
A cool thing about this is the guy is using 3D laser printers to make them. At least I think thats pretty cool. You can use a 7 watt or 15 watt bulb in more extreme temps.
By helping the guys who aren't bright enough to go where it's warmer, we may actually be making things worse:
- let's assume there's some set of genes that gives them the innate ability to "fly south" for the winter. These misplaced individuals have a less than perfect set of genes and helping them survive a harsher winter may allow them to pass those genes on to the next generation, increasing that bad set of genes in the gene pool.
OTOH- it is so compelling to try to help. How much difference in evolution can one or two lousy birds make? Maybe you're saving the species if we're headed for the next Ice Age! Small light bulbs do make good heaters like you've done. Good work.
BTW-- if goose down is supposed to be so #%$@# warm, why do geese fly south for the winter?
Perhaps it's best to remove feeders in early fall so they will get the nudge to move along to a more southern part of the country before it starts to freeze. I think perhaps some of these hummers stay around because of the easy food and then they can't cope when it gets too cold.
Nature doesn't provide lots of plentiful food for them in the fall. Maybe that's suppose to be their clue to move on at that time. If you live in an area where they don't naturally spend the winter due to the cold, you're not doing them any favors by encouraging them to stay by feeding them until they probably freeze to death.
We have year round humming birds, I will just monitor the water & if the water freezes, we can bring it inside for a short time to thaw.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
