cpcohen1945
New member
I'm new to the forum, and a newbie to running hummer feeders in -13 Centigrade (11 Fahrenheit) weather. But that's what we have here in Vancouver BC . . .
I set up a warmer (first time for me) under the feeder -- just a 15 watt light bulb in a plastic flowerpot, attached by wires to the feeder.
All was good during daylight, when one hummer seemed to be roosting on the perch. I unplugged it at 10 PM, brought it into the kitchen overnight --
. . . and saw that the hummer was still sitting on the perch, apparently dead.
After research, in a few minutes, my wife found that with luck, the bird was in torpor, not dead. I brought the feeder outside again, and plugged it in as it had been.
We hope that, with luck, the bird will revive tomorrow.
(a) . . . What are the chances of that ?
(b) . . . What could we have done better (besides checking the feeder for resident birds before moving it) ?
(c) . . . . Even with the heater, there's some ice crystals at the top of the feeder. Is the sugar concentration out-of-whack, and
. . . . . . . should we refill the feeder, or bring it inside and warm it up (without a hummer, tomorrow morning) ?
. . . . . . Or can we just let it be?
Thanks --
. Charles / Richmond (Vancouver), BC
I set up a warmer (first time for me) under the feeder -- just a 15 watt light bulb in a plastic flowerpot, attached by wires to the feeder.
All was good during daylight, when one hummer seemed to be roosting on the perch. I unplugged it at 10 PM, brought it into the kitchen overnight --
. . . and saw that the hummer was still sitting on the perch, apparently dead.
After research, in a few minutes, my wife found that with luck, the bird was in torpor, not dead. I brought the feeder outside again, and plugged it in as it had been.
We hope that, with luck, the bird will revive tomorrow.
(a) . . . What are the chances of that ?
(b) . . . What could we have done better (besides checking the feeder for resident birds before moving it) ?
(c) . . . . Even with the heater, there's some ice crystals at the top of the feeder. Is the sugar concentration out-of-whack, and
. . . . . . . should we refill the feeder, or bring it inside and warm it up (without a hummer, tomorrow morning) ?
. . . . . . Or can we just let it be?
Thanks --
. Charles / Richmond (Vancouver), BC