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I imagine this has been discussed before, but I cant seem to find the thread.
I still have my hummingbird feeders up, and there is 2 or 3 young females still around. By keeping the feeders up will it make the hummers stay longer??
I imagine this has been discussed before, but I cant seem to find the thread.
I still have my hummingbird feeders up, and there is 2 or 3 young females still around. By keeping the feeders up will it make the hummers stay longer??
Keep your feeder up until at least two weeks after you have seen your last bird. There is absolutely no basis to the idea that keeping a feeder up will keep the birds from migrating. Bird migration is triggered by day length - not by food availability.
No leaving the feeders up does not make them stay longer, they know exactly when they need to migrate. I have read that you should leave the feeders up until at least 2 weeks after you have seen your last hummer. Leaving your feeders available for them helps fatten them up and give them the nourishment they will need for their long trip.
Like these folks have already said, leaving the feeders up does not stop them from migrating. It's natural instinct for them to leave.
I always leave my feeders up until I haven't seen them for a few weeks. I also mark the last sighting on the calendar so I can be certain of when that was.
So far, I still have one little female straggler hanging around.
Hi Mark,
I never know now up here if I'm going to see a hummingbird again past Sept. 5 or so. To have one still around on Sept 13 is pretty impressive. I have fresh nectar cooling on the counter right now so I'll be giving her some fresh food shortly. Haven't seen her now in two days but then, with my kittens' surgeries yesterday, I haven't exactly been watching closely either. Hopefully she's still around for a few more days yet.
humminbird said:
That's great Tammie. When I was living in Sault Ste Marie, a hummingbird in the garden in August was big news!