Subject: Re: Hummingbirds in winter
Date: Dec 14 13:22:24 1995
From: Dennis Paulson - dpaulson at ups.edu


>So fill me in-- what type is it likely to be? And what do hummingbirds
>subsist on this time of year? If there's anything else I can do to keep my
>little visitor around, please advise.
>
>Louise Parker
>Seattle

Louise, Anna's is the hummingbird far and away most likely to be seen in
winter, although there are a few records of our common summer-visiting
Rufous Hummingbird staying in the winter.

I suspect mostly what they subsist on is hummingbird feeders. Hummingbirds
never wintered this far north before we began putting up feeders and
leaving them up in winter. There may be a few nursery-type flowers
blooming through part of the winter, for example fuchsias, that they can
feed from, and they probably eat small insects on warm days, but I think
feeders are their primary source of food.

Not too many hummers are here during the winter, but they are widely
scattered in the urban areas. If yours hangs around and comes to a feeder
you put up, it will probably stay through the winter. They often feed at
several feeders, visiting them one after another, thus still have something
to eat even when one feeder is empty.

Dennis Paulson, Director phone: (206) 756-3798
Slater Museum of Natural History fax: (206) 756-3352
University of Puget Sound e-mail: dpaulson at ups.edu
Tacoma, WA 98416