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Hummingbird FEEDERS-in cold weather (1 Viewer)

HummingbirdMJ

New member
Hello All,
Does anyone have any info., especially research, regarding the effect on hummingbirds of drinking cold sugar water from feeders?
I would think that ingesting very cold sugar water (temp. ~ 30-37 degrees F.) would be detrimental. I am about 35 miles north of San Francisco, and although we rarely get freezing temps. here, it has been very cold lately, with frost and temps in the low-mid 30's at night. I have been taking all of my feeders down at night and re-hanging them at sunrise. I would love to know what others do, and what your opinions are. Even though I have been a hummingbird rehabilitator for 8 years, and am therefore somewhat of an 'expert' on caring for sick/injured/orphaned hummers in captivity, I am not sure about this, even tho I feel like I should know!

Please feel free to email me privately also @ HummingbirdMJ AT aol.com

Thanks so much!

Mary Jo Wheeler
Petaluma CA 94952
 
I've seen no reluctance to or ill effects from hummers drinking cold nectar. If they sip from a flower (I have Salvia greggii and S. spathacea blooming right now), it'll be just as cold as your feeder.
 
Curtis Croulet said:
I've seen no reluctance to or ill effects from hummers drinking cold nectar. If they sip from a flower (I have Salvia greggii and S. spathacea blooming right now), it'll be just as cold as your feeder.
Thanks Chris!
Interesting point which you made about flower nectar-I did think of that, but somehow thought that it was 'different' or warmer than the sugar water in the feeders; also seems to me that the hummers would be ingesting a larger volume all at once of the cold sugar water? I can just visualize the poor little crops getting icy-shock! :-( My mind works in strange ways.
I dunno--just brainstorming...

Thanks again!
Mary Jo in Petaluma
 
HummingbirdMJ said:
Thanks Chris!
Interesting point which you made about flower nectar-I did think of that, but somehow thought that it was 'different' or warmer than the sugar water in the feeders; also seems to me that the hummers would be ingesting a larger volume all at once of the cold sugar water? I can just visualize the poor little crops getting icy-shock! :-( My mind works in strange ways.
I dunno--just brainstorming...

Thanks again!
Mary Jo in Petaluma

It's not a silly question. I've often wondered about it, and I've left unaddressed the possibility that I see "no ill effects" because sickened birds simply fly away and die unseen. However, what I've observed is that they come back for more. What would concern me more than cold nectar on a cold morning is cold nectar, straight from the fridge, on a hot day. But I have no evidence that that's a problem, either.
 
Maro Jo, my feeder has been out through the cold weather we had the past couple of weeks. It was even 29F at one time. No problem so far. And I live in Santa Rosa.
 
Forgive me for butting in......but I have a concern. I have been living in southern AZ now for 8 months and I have attracted hummers to my yard. The past few days we have had nights below freezing and my flowerpots have been covered. This morning I discovered a dead costas underneath the feeder with his wings spread open. I have been putting out a 4/1 water sugar mixture. I feel like his death had something to do with my feeder. I wash and replace the food every 3 or 4 days. What am I doing wrong?
 
I would think it more likely the cold might have done in your hummer and not your feeders. The 4-to-1 ratio for nectar is right. What a shame, regardless, isn't it?
 
I would have to agree. I see nothing that would imply that your feeders had anything to do with this bird's demise. And the fact that it was cold has little to support it as the cause of the birds failure either without a necropsy. There are so many factors that could cause a birds death that we have nothing to go on here.
 
Celeste, I'm very sorry to hear about the Costa's but agree that it's unlikely that you contributed to his death. Birds have to die somewhere, and for feeder birds that somewhere may be our yards. Costa's are pretty tough little dudes, and a healthy bird should have little trouble surviving the brief cold spells that hit the Sonoran Desert almost every winter. Since this bird didn't survive this cold spell, I suspect that he was already under stress from age, injury, or illness and was simply overtaxed by the cold to the point that even access to a feeder wasn't enough save him.

Though 4:1 is the standard recipe, increasing the sugar to 3:1 helps wintering hummingbirds by lowering the freezing temperature of the solution and by reducing heat lost through warming the solution to body temperature and getting rid of the excess water. You can switch back to 4:1 in spring when warm, dry weather increases their need for water.
 
Thanks for all the postings about my poor Costa's. I will increase the mixture for the winter. It's nice to know someone is listening out there. I made 2 calls to local agencies and neither called me back. Happy birding all!
 
Hummingbirds hibernate

I am not expert on artificial bird feeders, but I would like to mention that here in Brazil, when tempereture drops suddenly, the hummingbirds hibernate and so do some species of swallows. That´s their defence against cold.

Cheers, B :)
Wes


HummingbirdMJ said:
Hello All,
Does anyone have any info., especially research, regarding the effect on hummingbirds of drinking cold sugar water from feeders?
I would think that ingesting very cold sugar water (temp. ~ 30-37 degrees F.) would be detrimental. I am about 35 miles north of San Francisco, and although we rarely get freezing temps. here, it has been very cold lately, with frost and temps in the low-mid 30's at night. I have been taking all of my feeders down at night and re-hanging them at sunrise. I would love to know what others do, and what your opinions are. Even though I have been a hummingbird rehabilitator for 8 years, and am therefore somewhat of an 'expert' on caring for sick/injured/orphaned hummers in captivity, I am not sure about this, even tho I feel like I should know!

Please feel free to email me privately also @ HummingbirdMJ AT aol.com

Thanks so much!

Mary Jo Wheeler
Petaluma CA 94952
 
agree

Tz'unun said:
Celeste, I'm very sorry to hear about the Costa's but agree that it's unlikely that you contributed to his death. Birds have to die somewhere, and for feeder birds that somewhere may be our yards. Costa's are pretty tough little dudes, and a healthy bird should have little trouble surviving the brief cold spells that hit the Sonoran Desert almost every winter. Since this bird didn't survive this cold spell, I suspect that he was already under stress from age, injury, or illness and was simply overtaxed by the cold to the point that even access to a feeder wasn't enough save him.

Though 4:1 is the standard recipe, increasing the sugar to 3:1 helps wintering hummingbirds by lowering the freezing temperature of the solution and by reducing heat lost through warming the solution to body temperature and getting rid of the excess water. You can switch back to 4:1 in spring when warm, dry weather increases their need for water.

I also increase the sugar ratio during the winter, temps here have been down to 17 degrees this winter and my hummers seem to be doing fine
 
I guess it all depends on where you live. Sometimes they come during the winter and sometimes they don't. So far I haven't seen any come during the winter time. And just during the Spring/Summer time.
 
Rufous Hummingbird winter resident

When I woke up this morning the temperature was 26 degrees and the feeding solution was totally frozen. I made up a new batch and filled up another feeder and within minutes after installation, this winter resident showed up. He appears to regard my home as his winter resort. I think this is the same bird that took up lodging with us last winter.

Hummers are well adapted to the environments they choose to inhabit. Some have chosen the very high altitudes of the Andes mountains in South America. The best you can do for a hummer is to provide nourishment to fuel their extraordinary metabolism. B :)
 

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