George,

The Anna's have expanded mostly due to the plants and their associated nectar
and attracted bugs. Feeders will help the hummers that stay--they are not the
cause of their staying. If that were true, then Rufus would stay also, and
they do not.

Christine Southwick
N Seattle/Shoreline
clsouth at u.washington.edu

On Wed, 26 Oct 2005, George H wrote:

> Hi. I have been feeding birds for 15 years. I have cut way back on feeding
> and changed how I feed based on my own observations over time, trying my
> best to judge what is best for the birds. It has been a long learning
> process, and I'm sure there will be more to learn. Now, I have a new bird
> feeding question that has arisen, and I want to do the "right" thing, but I
> have no experience at this, so I would greatly appreciate any input.
>
> I live in Bellingham Wa., and have had a beautiful female Anna's Hummingbird
> visiting our yard for about two months now, a first for our yard. She was
> still here as of this morning. She has been visiting our hummer feeder, our
> hardy fuscia, and a few Pacific Giant Delphineums that are still blooming.
>
> I have read so many "myths about hummingbirds" articles over the years, and
> they have all included the comment that it is a myth that one needs to take
> feeders down in the fall, because the hummers will head south on their own.
> This doesn't jive with what I have read about Anna's hummers and their range
> expansion. Those sources, including Birds of Washington by Wahl, Tweit, and
> Mlodinow, suggest that Anna's have expanded their range because of an
> increase in feeders and landscape plants.
>
> Although Bellingham recieves less snow on average than many other places to
> the south in the Puget Sound region, it can experience in some winters a
> blast of intensely cold Arctic air from east of the mountains via the
> Frasier River. When that happens, I would think that it would be very
> difficult for a hummingbird to survive.
>
> Should I remove my feeder? If not, is there a way to help the hummingbird
> survive if she decides to stay and we get that kind of weather this year?
>
>
> George Heleker
> Bellingham, Wa.
> earthman1950 at earthlink.net


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