Subject: Anna's Hummingbirds
Date: Nov 3 10:09:13 2001
From: David Chelimer - chelimer at qwest.net


In response to Susie Schaefer's note asking about wintering Anna's
Hummingbirds: we, here in central Seattle (Madrona-Leschi), have had them
all winter long for the past thirty-two years, as regular visitors to our
feeder and often visible on nearby tree branches, from which they are able
to see the feeder and fly to it to chase off others. I have no idea how many
of them are here, but earlier this week I saw three males simultaneously,
busy chasing one another away from the feeder and just "hanging out" on
branches. And since daily visits to the feeder are divided pretty much
equally between males and females, my guess is that there are several
females around also, although I have never seen more than two at once.

A word for those of you who keep the feeders out all winter: I think I
learned in high school chemistry that increasing the amount of sugar in the
solution lowers its freezing point. I have done this when the temperature
goes below freezing so the birds don't find ice in the feeder when they need
their "fix" most. I make the solution at least one part of sugar to three of
water when the temperature is in the upper twenties, and on the rare
occasion when it drops into the teens here, have mixed in so much sugar that
the solution becomes very viscous - about the consistency of maple syrup. As
soon as the temperature gets back to above freezing I switch back to my
normal one to four solution. We are very careful to be sure there is ALWAYS
enough liquid available in the feeder, and to clean it regularly.

"Hang it and they will come!"


David Chelimer
chelimer at qwest.net
Seattle