Keeping nectar thawed for the Anna's (1 Viewer)

[MSRoberts]

Hi All,
For the past 6 years 2 or 3 Anna's have stayed year-round. Yesterday it became clear that the weather was going to become extremely cold. After reading several of the forum's old posts on this topic today, I changed to a 3:1 solution, but with the first real Arctic blast coming down I'm finding that even that mix forms ice crystals within a few hours. The feeder is 4ft from my window in a protected inside corner on the west side of the house (with a magnolia and a Chilean jasmine which have grown happily for 10 years in all kinds of weather).

Late this afternoon after noticing the ice crystals gaining the upper hand I hung a trouble light with a 60 watt bulb below the feeder.

. . . . 2 hours later . . . after the first power outage . . .

My question to you is this: will the light keep the birds feeding past the time when they should go into their torpor? Had I better unplug it for the night?

I think Ill leave it on for now - as the wind chill is putting us at about 11F. Whether the power is on tomorrow is a different question. I do have another feeder ready to put out at 7 if needed.

Thanks,
Molly

 

[MSRoberts]

Update

With the power out most of the night the feeder froze solid . . . but himself was there this morning (wind chill = 6F) when I took the new feeder out. Tough little guy, and apparently the light didn't keep him up past his bedtime.

Thanks,
Molly

 

[Chris D]

It'll be 20 degrees here tonight. Record early cold. I bring my feeders inside. Put them out just before dawn.

 

[MSRoberts]

Thanks , Chris. Today it's 18F and I've not seen any action since I unplugged the light at 5:45p. Think we've made it through the worst.
Molly

 

[Chris D]

25 here this morning. Put my 3 feeders out at 1st light. Perfect.

My wife enjoyed many trips to a friend's land on Lopez Island. Nice part of the world.

 

[woodpeckerwacko]

I wouldn't think that the light would lengthen hummingbird activity. Have you tried a red heat lamp?

I've also seen people put stockings, ect. on their feeders to ward off the ice. I've never tried this myself, though.

 

[KC Foggin]

There is an item out there that plumbers use and I believe it is called "plumber's tape" which you attach to the bottom of the feeder and then plug in and, according to my more northern hummingbird feeding friends, it does a fine job on keeping the nectar thawed.

 

[YourBirdOasis]

There are definitely bird bath heaters, but I wonder if they'd work at keeping your feeder thawed - at least during the day. Otherwise, I'd go with Chris's suggestion of taking them in at dusk and putting them back out before dawn. I cannot believe the hummingbirds are hanging around! If they survive the winter, those are some tough hummers!

 

[Tz'unun]

Here are a couple of posts from my blog that might help:

Helping hummingbirds through winter weather

Keeping hummingbird feeders from freezing

Stay warm!

 

[MSRoberts]

Thanks all! Great suggestions, and the links to further discussion were much appreciated. We're into a milder period now - so there'll be time to check out the hardware for a more waterproof lighting.

I'll probably end up with a combination of methods. There IS also a slight motivation to avoid setting the alarm clock for 5:30am . . . . .

 

[bastropbirder]

Thanks all! Great suggestions, and the links to further discussion were much appreciated. We're into a milder period now - so there'll be time to check out the hardware for a more waterproof lighting.

I'll probably end up with a combination of methods. There IS also a slight motivation to avoid setting the alarm clock for 5:30am . . . . .

for the rufous that winter here in central tx i leave a feeder outside in a corner that doesn't freeze as easily. usually it's partially frozzen. i keep one in the house for the next morning to hang outside. i shuttle them like this until the cold period ends. i think i'm going to try hanging one right above my porch light and leaving it on all night next cold spell. at the moment i have a hummer that is wintering that is supposed to be on the coast right now. we had a slight freeze last week and i was hoping he wouldn't be a goner. he got through it ok and has stuck around.

 

[aveschapines]

Do you think I will run into this problem when we start getting frosts (later this month)? We go below freezing for a few hours before dawn pretty much every night in January and February.

Helen

 

[Tz'unun]

I wouldn't worry too much about it, Helen. Any hummingbird that doesn't migrate to lower elevations in winter will be accustomed to slushy or even frozen nectar, whether from feeders or flowers.

 

[aveschapines]

I wouldn't worry too much about it, Helen. Any hummingbird that doesn't migrate to lower elevations in winter will be accustomed to slushy or even frozen nectar, whether from feeders or flowers.

That's a good point! I guess the flowers don't have heaters either. Somehow I doubt it will freeze, though; only on the coldest nights to puddles freeze around the edges or get a light film of ice on top.

Helen

 

[aveschapines]

I wouldn't worry too much about it, Helen. Any hummingbird that doesn't migrate to lower elevations in winter will be accustomed to slushy or even frozen nectar, whether from feeders or flowers.

It seems you are right - this morning it was 28ºF / -2ºC and the hummers came to drink at the feeder!

Helen