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When can I fill my feeder? (1 Viewer)

aliciasndrs

aliciasndrs

Member
I have a hummingbird feeder, which I filled it last year and I enjoyed watching hummingbirds feed from it. I live in Central New York and I am wondering what temperature should be it be for me to fill it? I don't want them to start coming to it if it is to early in the season, then die if it gets to cold.
 
They'll take care of themselves regarding cold weather. Please put those thoughts of "Hummacide" out of mind. They will not be hypnotized into harming themselves. Could check local weather forecast for prediction of hard frost. Knowledgable gardner could probably tell you when its safe. Safe meaning nectar not freezing and breaking feeder. Is also weather conducive to wildflowers, which brings those rascals "runnin"

Can check at a web site like Ebird or the link below to help coordinate efforts.
Shows sightings for (your) area. Could call local Audubon folks and have a chat to get the "ultra" specifics for your area too.

http://www.learner.org/jnorth/maps/humm_ruby_spring2012.html
 
While the winters aren't very cold here, we do get sub-freezing nights. If it's just barely under freezing then I leave the feeders out all night but if the temps are going down in the mid-to-low 20s F, then I take the feeders into the garage after dark and put them back out in the morning before dawn. I've read that hummers need the energy from the nectar on a morning after a cold night. And they are there at first light.
 
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We go below freezing every night from late December through early March, and I never bring the feeders in at night. It usually doesn't get below the high 20's, but occasionally it gets a bit colder.

Helen
 
When I have a wintering hummer, I increase the sugar content a bit as it freezes at a much lower temperature than our 32F. I also arrange a domed light over the feeder which also keeps it from freezing. Yes, we get temps in the 20s here in the winter. Not this pass winter but usually.
 
I usually have about a dozen hummers that stay all winter. I thought about trying to set up some sort of heating device but I have four feeders and they are some distance from the house (approx 30-50 feet). I like to keep them away from the house in case they drip. It attracts ants. Even when we have one of our coldest nights, which is low 20s F, it always gets warmer during the next day, up to 50 degrees F or so. Besides, bringing them in after dark is easy enough and in the winter I'm up before dawn, even on weekends. And you have to admit, it is "greener" than using electricity.

I also make the mixture stronger in the winter so that high 20s F are OK. For a "normal" winter I can count the nights we have mid-to-low 20s F on one hand. Of course "normal" weather seems to be changing . . . :eek!:
 
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PumaMan said:
I usually have about a dozen hummers that stay all winter. I thought about trying to set up some sort of heating device but I have four feeders and they are some distance from the house (approx 30-50 feet). I like to keep them away from the house in case they drip. It attracts ants. Even when we have one of our coldest nights, which is low 20s F, it always gets warmer during the next day, up to 50 degrees F or so. Besides, bringing them in after dark is easy enough and in the winter I'm up before dawn, even on weekends. And you have to admit, it is "greener" than using electricity.

I also make the mixture stronger in the winter so that high 20s F are OK. For a "normal" winter I can count the nights we have mid-to-low 20s F on one hand. Of course "normal" weather seems to be changing . . . :eek!:
Click to expand...

During our cold months, mid-high 20s is normal, and occasionally it goes to the high teens. I leave my feeders out with the usual 1:4 nectar mix and have had no problems. Like you, we always get at least into the low 50s during the day, but lows in the 20s and highs in the 70s on the same day are not unusual.
 
aveschapines said:
Like you, we always get at least into the low 50s during the day, but lows in the 20s and highs in the 70s on the same day are not unusual.
Click to expand...
Not that unusual here either. Sometimes we even get a snow, an inch or two, which disappears in a couple of hours. I think the record low in Tucson is 9 degrees F (-13 C). In the sixteen years that I've been here, the lowest temp I've seen is 18 degrees F (-8 C).

I see that Quetzaltenango is located in a mountain valley at an elevation of 2,330 meters (7,655 ft) above sea level at its lowest part. It looks beautiful and you have a really nice climate there:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quetzaltenango#Climate
 
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PumaMan said:
Not that unusual here either. Sometimes we even get a snow, an inch or two, which disappears in a couple of hours. I think the record low in Tucson is 9 degrees F (-13 C). In the sixteen years that I've been here, the lowest temp I've seen is 18 degrees F (-8 C).

I see that Quetzaltenango is located in a mountain valley at an elevation of 2,330 meters (7,655 ft) above sea level at its lowest part. It looks beautiful and you have a really nice climate there:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quetzaltenango#Climate
Click to expand...

Yep! It's really quite nice here. It never snows, mostly because the rainy season and the cold season don't coincide; otherwise it would snow on those below-freezing nights. Our record low is -9C (19F, I believe).

It actually did snow once a couple of years ago - we had very wierd week of rain in December (dry season normally) and one night it turned to snow for five minutes on top of Tajumulco, the highest volcano in the region; left a dusting of visible snow.

How hot does it get in Tucson? Here the hottest it ever gets is the low 80s F, never for more than a few hours in the afternoon. Blanket weather every night of the year. Really delightful weather all around!
 
aveschapines said:
How hot does it get in Tucson? Here the hottest it ever gets is the low 80s F, never for more than a few hours in the afternoon. Blanket weather every night of the year. Really delightful weather all around!
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Your climate has ours beat, I'm afraid.

Our hottest time is the month of June, just before the the summer rainy season starts (monsoon). It normally gets above 100 almost every day, quite a few days of 106-108 with record high being about 112. But it cools off nicely at night, temps going down to upper 60s, low 70s. This is due to the very low humidity, around 6-8 percent, sometimes even down to 4 percent. Now, when the summer rainy season starts about the first week of July, we get humidity, rain, cooler daytime temps (95-102) and warmer nights (high 70s). But not much rain -- only about 11 inches total per year.

One nice thing about where I live, I haven't been bitten by a mosquito in 16 years.
 
PumaMan said:
Your climate has ours beat, I'm afraid.

Our hottest time is the month of June, just before the the summer rainy season starts (monsoon). It normally gets above 100 almost every day, quite a few days of 106-108 with record high being about 112. But it cools off nicely at night, temps going down to upper 60s, low 70s. This is due to the very low humidity, around 6-8 percent, sometimes even down to 4 percent. Now, when the summer rainy season starts about the first week of July, we get humidity, rain, cooler daytime temps (95-102) and warmer nights (high 70s). But not much rain -- only about 11 inches total per year.

One nice thing about where I live, I haven't been bitten by a mosquito in 16 years.
Click to expand...

Yep LOL I'll take my climate! Our hottest days are also typically just before the rainy season begins, in March and April. But nights are always cool/cold - if it stays in the upper 60s it's a very warm night! Our rainy season usually means sunny mornings and showers or downpours in the afternoon. Humidity isn't really an issue here; we don't talk about it because it's never very humid. It gets very dry and dusty at the end of the dry season and I long for the rain!

ETA forgot to say I never get bitten by mosquitos except when I travel to lower elevations.
 
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aveschapines said:
It gets very dry and dusty at the end of the dry season and I long for the rain!
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Same here. I've never lived somewhere like this, where a rain is something really special and looked forward to. In the Spring we can go two-three months without rain.

BTW, your English is very good. Is it your second language? If so, I salute you. :t:
 
PumaMan said:
Same here. I've never lived somewhere like this, where a rain is something really special and looked forward to. In the Spring we can go two-three months without rain.

BTW, your English is very good. Is it your second language? If so, I salute you. :t:
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We normally go six months without rain, and it does teach you to appreciate it!

Thanks for the compliment ;-) but English is my first language; I'm from the US but have lived down here for a number of years. However, my Spanish is really good too! ;)
 
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