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Wednesday, November 22, 2017 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
Tales from a
Sisters
Naturalist
by Jim Anderson
Hummingbirds
in winter —
what do we do?
The topic of a lot of my
phone calls, emails and text
messages this fall has been
about hummingbirds and
feeders in winter.
Right off the bat, sugar
water is not “food” for hum-
mingbirds. Like humans with
soda pop, the birds get an
instant shot of energy from
sugar water in the feeder, but
there’s not enough nutrition
in it to keep them healthy.
When hummers poke
their long beaks into blos-
soming flowers, there’s lot
more going on than guz-
zling nectar. There’s a krijil-
lion species of tiny arthro-
pods (animals with jointed
legs) that are also inside that
flower the hummingbirds
scrounge in for nectar.
Every one of them has
what hummingbirds require
for sustenance, which plain
old sugar water does not
supply.
Hummingbirds can get
hooked on feeders. They see
the red which attracts them to
come look at the device; then
they spy the hole and bingo!
They’re hooked. It wouldn’t
surprise me if researchers
also found that humming-
birds — zipping along at 60
mph — can recognize the
shape of a feeder from a long
distance and will suddenly
change course and stop by
for a quick shot of energy.
Please do not use food
coloring in the sugar water. If
the feeder is red, that’s good
DON’T GET
S
YOUR FEATHER
RUFFLED!
Th r ’s still time
There’s
tim
to schedule your
holiday haircut!
enough. Stay away from
commercial hummingbird
solution with food-coloring
in it. The chemicals used to
create coloring can’t be good
for hummingbirds, and from
what I’ve read about it, even
if it’s approved by some gov-
ernment agency, it ain’t good
for humans either.
But what to do about
hummers in winter? Here’s
what I do, and I’m begin-
ning to wonder if I’m doing
it right. Just about the time
we have our first really orga-
nized frost that leaves ice on
the windshield of my trusty
old Toyota 4Runner way past
sunup, I take my feeder in
that night.
As the days continue to
get colder I make it a point
to watch the spot where the
feeder was hanging, look-
ing for any sign of a hum-
mer searching for it. If one
turns up I’ll refill the feeder
and bring it back into ser-
vice for as long as the days
stay warm. My thinking is
the hummer has been here
before while migrating south
and needs that charge of
energy to keep going on. But
as soon as the frost nights
return I take it back in, wash
it out, rinse it well and put it
away for the winter.
Then when I take a trip
around Central Oregon, what
do I see hanging in plain site?
Yep: hummingbird feeders.
I called two of my best
sources for birds about
hummingbird feeders in
winter and both told me
they left their feeders up all
winter and only took them
in at night to keep them
from freezing. That really
troubled me because I was
(and to some extent, still am)
convinced that leaving feed-
ers up in winter will only
keep a hummer here in win-
ter where it will eventually
freeze to death.
Hummers can go into a
“torpor,” a state of mental
and physical inactivity, with
partial or total insensibility
and lowered physiological
activity. It’s also typically
characterized by reduced
metabolism, heart rate, respi-
ration and body temperature.
This will increase the tol-
erance for withstanding the
intense cold for as long as 36
hours, maybe to the point of
protecting a hummer when
the outside temperature goes
down to zero. But in Sisters
Country and the countryside
round about, that low can
go on for as long as a week,
or longer, with several days
of temperatures below the
freezing point during the day.
I wonder if a hummer
can wake up enough during
the sunny day to fly over to
a feeder, get some slurps of
warm sugar water and then
settle into another torpor for
a few days. I hope so.
In reference to humming-
bird winter migration and
feeders, the Cornell Lab of
Ornithology states: “A num-
ber of factors trigger the urge
for birds to migrate, but the
most significant one is day
length. When the days get
shorter, the hummingbirds
will move on, regardless of
whether there are still filled
feeders available for them.
“We do, however, encour-
age people to keep their
hummingbird feeders full for
several weeks after they have
seen the last hummer, just in
case there are stragglers in
need of additional energy
before they complete their
long journey south.”
Does that mean leave
them up all winter? Makes
me wonder…
And then there’s this
from the Seattle Audubon
Society: “There are many
documented reports of hum-
mingbirds that survive the
snow and freezing tempera-
tures. In fact, Anna’s hum-
mingbird winter in the state
of Washington where they
endure cold periods well —
as long as they have food
sources.”
So I’ll leave it up to you.
If you feel leaving your
feeder out during the day
in winter is doing the right
thing for a hummer who
didn’t get into the migration
frame of mind, then so be it.
But please take it in at night
to keep it from freezing. Who
knows, with climate change
upon us, maybe a Mexican
long-tongued bat may wan-
der through and stop by your
feeder for a shot of energy as
well.
Frontiers In Science
MONTHLY SYMPOSIUM IN SISTERS
Pachyderm
Intrigue &
Elephant
Lessons
l to be
u
f
k
n
a
th
e
r
a
e
W
ters
a part of th e Sis
community for
r!
anoth er great yea
Donald J. Miller is a humanitarian
and conservation photographer
with a passion for enhancing
appreciation of the biosphere and
awareness of the challenges facing
l h t after
ft photo-
h t
our planet. He has a special interest i in elephants
graphing them in 1983 at Washington Park Zoo (Oregon Zoo).
Miller’s lecture will explore the sophisticated nature of elephant
society and communication as illustrated by the research of bi-
ologists Katy Payne and Caitlin O’Connell and enhanced by the
volunteer desert elephant conservation work Miller has done
with Elephant Human Relations Aid in Namibia, Africa.
Also trained as a registered nurse, Miller has done volunteer medical work
in El Salvador, Haiti, and China. His travels contribute to the creation of his
humanitarian images. “Invisible Gift” is the title of his new print display fea-
turing images expressing goodwill – that non-material, seemingly invisible
gift – shared among people of the world. www.delicatelightphotography.com
This lecture is co-sponsored by Friends of the Sisters Library
and the Jim Anderson Chair.
Tuesday, November 28
At The Belfry, 302 E. Main Ave., Sisters
One-hour lecture begins at 7 p.m.
Doors open at 6 p.m. for community hour!
Admission: $5;
Science Club Donors,
Teachers and Students - FREE
Ben Crockett, D.D.S.
p 541-549-9486 f 541-549-9110
152 E. Main • 541-549-8771
PHOTO BY SUE ANDERSON
Adult male rufous hummingbird refueling for its long migration to
Mexino.
410 E. Cascade Ave. • P.O. Box 1027 • Sisters, Oregon 97759
Hours: Mon., 10 a.m.-7 p.m.; Tues.-Wed., 8 a.m.-4 p.m.; Thurs., 7 a.m.-3 p.m.
Save the Date: Tues., Jan. 23
Barbara Pettersen, MS
“The New Genetics:
Promises and Pitfalls”
Bring your curiosity and an appetite for food, drink & knowledge!