Keep feeders hanging for winter hummingbirds

Despite tradition and old, outdated beliefs, don’t take down your hummingbird feeders as temperatures drop this fall and winter. That’s the suggestion of Georgia Wildlife Resources Division biologists, who say that some visiting hummers make the state their winter home and benefit from the nourishment feeders provide. Although our common summering ruby-throated hummingbird is the only breeding hummingbird species in eastern North America, 12 hummer species have been recorded by observers and banders in Georgia over the last few decades.

Every year in early fall, our resident ruby-throats migrate south to southern Mexico and Central America, often crossing the Gulf of Mexico in a single flight. But even before this departure, hummingbird species from the western United States and northwestern Canada start showing up in Georgia.

These winter visitors may arrive as early as August and stay into late March or early April. Among the southward-migrating newcomers is the rufous hummingbird, which has the longest migration route of any hummer species, and the calliope hummingbird, the smallest bird in North America. Georgia also provides a winter home for a number of black-chinned hummingbirds, a species similar to the ruby-throated.

In the past, many Georgians took their feeders down for winter, fearing that the food supply would deter hummingbirds from migrating. A lot of backyard birdwatchers continue this practice, believing they are doing the migrating birds a favor. However, the shortening of the days as fall moves into winter is nature’s signal for hummers to move, not the availability of food. Hummingbirds will migrate regardless of regional food supply. Keeping feeders up through the winter, contrary to past belief, does not affect normal migration.

Instead, homeowners who keep their hummingbird feeders full are providing a supplemental source of food for migratory hummers and may even get a rare glimpse of a western species visiting their yards in the winter. Observers who have experienced the sight of a rare winter hummingbird far from its traditional breeding range all agree it is quite an exciting phenomenon.

Keeping feeders available for winter hummers also helps biologists gather data on winter hummingbird populations, according to Todd Schneider, a biologist with the Wildlife Resources Division’s Nongame Conservation Section, a Georgia Department of Natural Resources unit specifically concerned with nongame wildlife species.

“Until a few years ago, we didn’t even know that we had several of these hummingbird species wintering here,” Schneider said. “But we are now able to establish a baseline so we can see whether certain species become more or less frequent in the state during winter.”

Of the western hummers that occasionally appear in Georgia, the rufous hummingbird is the most common. This species breeds farther north than any other hummingbird, spending the summer in the Pacific Northwest and Alaska. When making the long migration down the chain of the Rocky Mountains toward south-central Mexico, a few rufous hummingbirds will follow a different route and end up in Georgia and other parts of the Southeast during winter. Several rufous have already appeared in the state this fall, including one female in Valdosta that returned to the same backyard in which she was banded last year.

The calliope hummer is another snowbird, colorful but tiny at about a tenth of an ounce. This species also sometimes veers off track on its journey to wintering grounds in Mexico. A calliope was first recorded in Georgia during the winter of 1998-1999.

Black-chinned hummingbirds show up almost regularly in the Macon area and along the Georgia coast. The state has also hosted at least one ultra-rare Allen’s hummingbird, seen and recorded in Southwest Georgia in the mid 1990s. Other rare hummingbirds that have been documented in Georgia are Anna’s, Broad-billed, Broad-tailed, Buff-bellied, Green-breasted mango, Magnificent, and Green violet-ear.

When maintaining feeders for winter hummingbirds, or for our summering ruby-throats, there is no need to use expensive, ornate feeders or commercially prepared nectar mixes. Inexpensive plastic feeders, easy to clean and available for a few dollars, work as well as any. A homemade sugar/water solution mixed at four parts water to one part sugar is sufficient and nutritious. No red food coloring or other perceived attractant is necessary and may even be harmful.

The best way for Georgians to report winter hummingbird sightings is at the Georgia Hummer Study Group website, www.gahummer.org. This group is particularly interested in hummingbirds spotted in early November to early March. Sightings can also be reported to Wildlife Resource’s Nongame Conservation Section in Forsyth by calling (478) 994-1438. These reports document the incidence of wintering hummers and help biologists determine the birds’ habitat needs.

Georgians can also help conserve endangered and other nongame wildlife by purchasing or renewing a bald eagle or hummingbird license plate or contributing to the Georgia Wildlife Conservation Fund through the state income tax checkoff or direct donations. Each option provides vital support for the Nongame Conservation Section, which receives no state appropriations for its mission.