I would definitely consider trying to find a bander. Most people use a 3:1 water to sugar ratio during the winter instead of the 4:1 ratio.

Penny

Your hummers are probably Anna's which are here year round. We have five of them at our house between Renton and Issaquah. You can change the formula to 3 to 1 when it is going to be below 32 degrees for an extended time. It will not freeze as easily.

We are able to have someone here most of the time. When it is that cold, we bring the feeders in after dark and put them out just before dawn. We have multiple feeders because of the additional Rufous that are here in the summer. We keep one inside at room temp and swap it if a feeder freezes.

It may seem like a lot of work but it has to get into the high twenties before ours freezes which doesn't happen that often. The birds are a lot more resilient then we think and have made it through the winter for a long time. They eat a lot of spiders which are still available in the interior of trees and shrubs. They will get through this cold spell even if you can't keep your feeder from freezing.

Just remember to keep fresh syrup in your feeders after this cold spell and they will stay until the Rufous come back in the spring and try to chase them away. BnB

A male Anna's is siting in this bush inside the white box between trips to the feeder. Unfortunately, the sun is too low in the sky to shine into the hole for better pictures.

They are beautiful, and I had no clue they would winter over in cold areas. I live in zone 7, and wonder if they would winter over here if I feed them. I need to start next year, though, because I have nothing set up for them right now.

What is a "bander"? Is that some way of tagging them?

Susan (newbie)

A bander is someone that is licensed and professionally trainer to capture, measure, tag and record all the data on a particular bird. Specialized equipment is required to do this.

Penny

My, isnt he a handsome fellow. Arent you the lucky one to have such a special visitor for the winter. I hadnt seen a good pic of an anna before, the crown of him sorta looks like a mohawk with the red/violet/lavender.

11/29/2006 2nd day
There is about 2-3 inches of snow in the Seattle/Tacoma area today, with temps last night and this morning in the low to mid 20s and wind-chill to the teens, the two hummingbirds (Rufus?) continue to visit our feeder. The larger of the two continues to expend his energy by chasing and attempting to drive off the 2nd smaller one. As before, i put the feeder outdoors around 6:30 AM. First visit today was about 7:30 AM Also, this AM i added a pair of automoble-repair-style halogen trouble lamps on a tripod focusing it onto the feeder. This warmed the immediate location (next to window) by about 10 degrees F

Yesterday i bought a 2nd feeder and by keeping one indoors and warming, then by substituting the warm one for the cooled one hourly, i endeaver to reduce the reported hyperthermia risk.

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:1002616}}

It got down to about 25 here in Portland. All the feeders stayed liquid -- I'm using a 3-to-1 mix -- but they are all very close to the house and sheltered. I haven't noticed my sugar water mix freezing until it gets down to the low 20s.

The hummers are hitting them hard and usage seems higher than in summer -- I am refilling more than usual. They seem to share better now, too. I saw 3 perching and feeding at the saucer feeder at the same time which is pretty rare with these guys.

I feel a little guilty because the hummers can obviously see my indoor winter-flowering orchids blooming right by the window, and they hover on the other side trying to get at them...

Dec 10. 2006 For several days now the original 2 Rufous females have been gone. Migrated i suspect. A 3rd hummer turned up. Since the temertatures in the Federal Way area had warmed up considerably i discontinued the use of a hallogen light bar focused onto the window where they feed. The 3rd hummer was only coming in the afternoon as far as i could tell. This morning i focused the hallogen light bar once again onto the window and feeder. This resulted in four visits to the feeder between 7:30 AM and 8 PM when i stopped paying attention. Why would this light source change the feeding pattern so dramatically i wonder ?