Over-wintering Hummingbirds

[markjohn]

I live just north of San Antonio and have either a female or juvenile male rufous (could be Allen's) hummingbird making our yard its home ever since early September.

Last week, we had nighttime temps plummet to the high twenties, where upon I brought the feeders in to keep the nectar from freezing and set them back out early in the morning to a very annoyed, bossy, eager feeder. At first, I was quite worried for the lil' guy, but upon further reading have learned that over-wintering hummers are not so uncommon, particularly the rufous variety which seems to have a greater endurance for the colder climates.

I want to encourage folks in the lower states to keep their feeders going through the winter months for the purpose of sustaining these late, elusive, wandering wonders. According to a bird site monitoring North/South Carolina, this does not keep hummers from migrating, it only helps them which choose (for whatever reason) to hang back.

Who knew? Wonders never cease! Merry Christmas, ya'll.

[Davlyn]

Hey , I also have a rufous hummer that has been here since september . I think it is the same one that has spent the last three winters with us ! I love it , I had a new hummer show up yesterday not sure what it is yet because my rufous run's him before we can get a good look but there is plenty of nectar to go around !

[markjohn]

Same here! Just the other afternoon, after my initial post here, my son saw the blur of our rufous in pursuit of another hummer!

Now I've got to strategically place the second feeder far enough from the house in hopes to make it too difficult for rufous to defend both simultaneously.

I wonder what their protein source is during consecutive days in the 40s without sunshine, when not a single insect is to be found? At least in our neck of the woods, winters are really just a series of cold fronts, with warming southern breezes in between when flies, bees, lady bugs and tiny butterflies come out to soak up the rays. Cool-climate flowers and fresh cut oranges bring lots of activity during surprisingly cooler days. There are a lot more insects thriving during winter than I used to believe.

[Louise Chambers]

We have a hummer at our acres near Sandia, TX - JB says probably a black-chinned. It has a fair amount of orangish-buff on sides and lower belly, none on back or tail. Neat to see it, though - we have a feeder up for it, there are insects unless it's very cold, and there are plants blooming. I hope it stays around.

Up the coast near Victoria, TX, there's been a winter hummer banding project with incredible records of species seen and birds recaptured for many years.

[markjohn]

Good to know they're being closely monitored. I'll bet it's a fascinating study.

[Don Troha]

Nice to see some of you have over-wintering hummingbirds.
A Rufous and a Ruby Throat spent December with us here on the west side of Houston.
Here's a photo of the Rufous: http://www.flickr.com/photos/9280735@N03/6617444161/
And a photo of the Ruby Throat: http://www.flickr.com/photos/9280735@N03/6617628987/

[Louise Chambers]

Those are really good photos, Don. Thanks for sharing. I spent a lot of time trying to get photos of the hummers at our place, one has buffy wash on underside, another is drabbest hummer I've ever seen, and one sounds like an outboard motor when it flies. Can't ID any of them but it's fun to try.

What's the plant that the rufous is feeding on? I'm always looking for good plants for hummers & butterflies.

[Veronica G]

We've got a rufous, black-chinned, and of course several of our resident buff bellies down here. We also had dozens of monarch catepillars on our milkweed (the one you gave us Louise when we went up there - it has multiplied :-) ) a couple of weeks ago. Since we got back from vacation (camping at Big Bend), I've only seen a couple. On a side note, it snowed while we were there! It was beautiful! Very exciting for a south Texas girl who had only seen snow once before :-)

Veronica

[Don Troha]

Thanks Louise. That plant is a purple sage (salvia) similar to this one:
http://www.onlineplantguide.com/PlantDe ... nt_id=2428
Happy New Year to all!

[Louise Chambers]

thanks Don. I planted two Mexican Bush Sage this fall, mine are small yet and frost caused them to drop their leaves - I am hoping they survive and fill out next spring.

I have found native sages & salvias to be good choices that endure heat and drought better than anything else. I am also having good luck with other natives -blackfoot daisy and skeleton-leaf golden-eye, at least so far. And butterfly bush is doing well. I grow all the tropical milkweed and turk's cap I can manage too. I really enjoy gardening for birds & butterflies.

[CMF]

Up North, well Delaware isn't really "North" but close enough for vagrant Selasaporus Hummingbirds, we get usually one visitor in the fall and winter. This year, we have one near Rehoboth and last year Selbyville both locations near the coast. When a wayward bird comes East, they hold along along the coast and remain in a area until they are driven south by frigid weather or perish. I was able to photograph these rarities and they draw quite a stir in the birding community.
This years Selasphorous was captured last Monday, confirmed as a hatch year male Rufous, banded and released: http://www.flickr.com/photos/allseasons ... hotostream
Last years Selasphorous was not captured so species confirmation could not be established. Rufous/Allen's must be examined by an expert to measure the tail feathers for ID.
Last years bird: http://www.flickr.com/photos/allseasons ... 4474315599
We keep our feeders up throughout the winter hoping to snag one of these hardy little ones.
CMF

[Louise Chambers]

Great photos, Chuck - and what beautiful birds! It's nice that hummers remain here and there in the US for us to enjoy. We are keeping two feeders up at our weekend place for them, and on a cold day like today (40s), I think they really appreciate them. It will get into upper 60s and they will find insects once it does warm up.

On a side note - we put orange halves in trees for the birds - cardinals, woodpeckers and mockers like them. I was surprised to see a hummer drinking its OJ this summer. Once the oranges start to ferment, red admiral butterflies are all over them, have also seen hackberries sipping away.

[Don Troha]

Congrats to those of you have Martins already.
No Martins here, but Hummers have been here all winter.
Also got some Goldfinches. Here are a couple of photos.
(Finally figured out how to display flikr photos in a forum post. )