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birds7212

winter humming bird needs help

birds7212
12 years ago

We have a winter humming bird here in Spokane WA and not sure how to keep it alive in this cold. Have feeder out and trying to keep it from freezing for the bird can anyone give advise or help.

Comments (7)

  • roper2008
    12 years ago

    There is a forum for hummingbirds called, The Hummingbird Forum.
    Google it.

  • morz8 - Washington Coast
    12 years ago

    They stay through winter here too, of course we don't have nearly your cold and when we do, it lasts just a few days.

    I mix the sugar water ratio stronger temporarily, the more sugar, the slower it freezes. Sugar water, 1 part sugar to 3 or even 2 1/2 parts water, will stay liquid and usable to the hummers for a good 12 hours or so at temps just below freezing.

    I have more than one feeder, and during an unusual freeze like we had last winter where daytime temps stayed well below freezing, I rotated them, bringing one in to the laundry room to thaw while the other was being used. For those nights in the 'teens'....I would bring them in after dark, DH would return them about an hour before daylight. And we did that both Fri and Sat night here this last weekend.

    There are some more ideas here - my feeders are the saucer style and don't lend themselves to adapting as suggested though....

    Here is a link that might be useful: Frozen nectar

  • dkaiser55
    12 years ago

    I live in Scottsdale, AZ and have a beautiful green hummingbird with a vivid bright pink/red throat. It comes to my feeder, but then goes to the gravel in the yard and just lays there like it is injured. When I approach it, the bird flies like it is ok, goes to feeder drinks and then goes back to the gravel and just lies there. It has done this for 3 days, all day long. I am puzzled. Can anyone explain this behavior?

  • dkaiser55
    12 years ago

    I live in Scottsdale, AZ and have a beautiful green hummingbird with a vivid bright pink/red throat. It comes to my feeder, but then goes to the gravel in the yard and just lays there like it is injured. When I approach it, the bird flies like it is ok, goes to feeder drinks and then goes back to the gravel and just lies there. It has done this for 3 days, all day long. I am puzzled. Can anyone explain this behavior?

  • birds7212
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    We appreciate the help we are getting for our winter visitor. On the Hummingbird Forum site someone suggested we got a reply that said we should contact a bander...but we have no idea how to find a bander in our area. Can anyone give us any information about this? So far the bird comes every morning with in a 15 min. window and stays of and on throughout the day. Such wonderful of natures creatures.

  • morz8 - Washington Coast
    12 years ago

    birds7212, as a guess, you might try contacting the Spokane Audubon for possible phone numbers if you are looking for a bander -

    Here is a link that might be useful: audubon spokane

  • linda_tx8
    12 years ago

    Thanks for the info! Two mornings now I've been rushing a feeder out in the early a.m. for the hummers, to avoid frozen nectar. We got down to 25.7F the night before last. This is my first year as a "winter hummer" host, so I'm learning as I go. I live out in country west of San Antonio.