Mary,
I think in your area the Annas stick around most if not all year. On the east cost we only have the Rubythroat and they arrive in the spring and leave in the fall.

If it is possible for you to maintain a feeder all year then by all means do so. THe main thing is to keep it free of mold and the nectar fresh and not fermented. During the winter months you would probably only have to change it once a week.

Penny

Howdy, I live up here in the Seattle area and I see my hummers every day. It's almost Christmas now. It gets a little hard when the freezing weather hits, but I just put out a warm feeder every morning. My buddies are sitting on the shrubs waiting for me. I love those hummers and they are soooooo pretty!
Digger

Hi Mary : ) I just put out some fresh 4:1 water:sugar mix a couple hours ago. Like Lanternboy I live in the Seattle area and we share the same kinds of hummingbirds with you in SF but I am pretty sure you have a chance to see other species that don't go this far north up the west coast. You should have a male Anna's or 2 nearby that could use an extra feeder so go ahead and keep it going through the winter : ) It may take them a lil while to find it but maybe not. I see my hummingbird visit quite often daily. I saw him twice today but I wasn't really looking for him being that there were other things happening around the house. We saw him on one of the coldest mornings recently as early as 7:30 AM and on dreary rainy days it is quite nice to have him visit. Happy holidays, Mike : )

Hi,

Mine have been around for several months and all of a sudden they are gone? I accidently let the nectar get fermented, but cleaned the feeder and put fresh nectar in--been a week and no sign. Will they come back??? :-(

I have had humming birds for many years come to my feeders, not a few many. But this year they came back to the same feeders as years before. the unusual thing they have left I have't seen them for about 2 weeks. why has this happened?

Hummers will not drink fermented nectar. Once this happens, they are going somewhere else. I am not sure if they will come back. I have had this happen over the years a couple of times, but I don't think those birds came back. Others did show up when the nectar was replaced.