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Feeding Winter Hummingbirds




The winter of 2001-2002 has been especially productive for vagrant 
hummingbirds across the eastern U.S. Here in the Carolinas, we are 
still finding new hummers each week.

Forecasters are calling for a winter storm across much of our area in 
the next day or two, followed by frigid temperatures in the mid-teens 
by the end of the week. This may cause some angst in the minds of 
hummingbird enthusiasts, but it's worth remembering that winter 
hummers are pretty resilient. They got here on their own, and we 
ought not go to extreme measures to try to help them survive.

Nonetheless, for those of you who have winter hummingbirds, you might 
take the following simple steps to enhance the well-being of your 
birds:

--If your feeder is in an exposed area, hang a second one in a 
protected spot, perhaps under the eaves of your roof. This will allow 
your hummer to feed if the exposed feeder gets covered by snow or ice.

--Bring your feeder in at night to allow the sugar water to warm, 
then put it back out by first light the next day. (Nearly all the 
wintering hummingbirds I've encountered make their first feeder visit 
of the day within 30 minutes of sunrise, so you don't want to be 
late.) In really cold weather, have two feeders and alternate them at 
mid-day, replacing a cold one with a warm one.

--Don't forget that sugar water will still mold and ferment even at 
cool temperatures, so change your mix once a week during winter.

--Provide habitat in your yard that will, in turn, attract insects 
that winter hummers need for fats and protein. (If you haven't tossed 
your Christmas tree yet, you might stand it up in your yard for 
shelter that may be used by roosting hummingbirds.)

--Plan now to put in plants that will attract Ruby-throated 
Hummingbirds when they begin coming back in late March/early April. 
Don't forget to include Pineapple Sage--a plant that vagrant hummers 
are especially attracted to in late fall and until it gets hammered 
by the first hard freeze.

See http://www.hiltonpond.org/ResearchHummerVagrantMain.html for 
information about winter hummingbird research conducted through 
Hilton Pond Center for Piedmont Natural History and "Operation 
RubyThroat: The Hummingbird Project."

Please let us know by e-mail or at (803) 684-5852 if you have any new 
wintering hummingbirds anywhere in the eastern U.S.


Withe best wishes for a great 2002,

BILL


-- 

BILL HILTON JR., "The Piedmont Naturalist"
Hilton Pond Center for Piedmont Natural History
1432 DeVinney Road, York, South Carolina 29745 USA
hilton@hiltonpond.org, (803) 684-5852, eFax: (503) 218-0845

Please visit our web sites at http://www.hiltonpond.org and
http://www.rubythroat.org

"Never trust a person too lazy to get up for sunrise or too busy to
watch the sunset."					BHjr.