AboutHummingbirds.com :: About Hummingbirds Articles :: Are There More Winter Hummingbirds?
Are There More Winter Hummingbirds?
Zoe Ann Hinds
It may surprise you to discover that gardening and bird watching are the two most popular outdoor activities in America today. This may explain why in the past 10-15 years, hummingbird feeding has become increasingly more popular and therefore many more people have placed hummingbird feeders in their yard and are maintaining them. The increased number of hummingbird feeders often means that people “forget” and leave their feeders up past Labor Day. Many people mistakenly believe Labor Day to be the traditional date for taking down hummingbird feeders, but there is no such thing. Let me explain.
It is impossible to provide an exact date by which time hummingbird feeders should be taken down. It is believed that migrating hummingbirds may be helped by feeders that are left up until at least two weeks have passed since seeing your last hummingbird. By leaving your feeders up, you will be providing a vital food source to any hummingbirds that are late in migrating or that have somehow gotten of their normal migratory route. Contrary to what many people believe, hummingbirds will migrate even if your hummingbird feeders are not taken down. Males generally migrate several weeks ahead of immature hummingbirds, which are also known as new hatchlings, and females. When migration occurs is determined by a change in the length of the day or photoperiod.
We all know the power and reach of the Internet and it has certainly made a difference in this matter. Due to the Internet, people have become more aware of the existence of winter hummingbirds. The Internet has also made it much easier for people to learn of the opinions of hummingbird experts and then to contact them via e-mail. The Internet has also made it much easier to seek information and photos of hummingbirds, so this is probably enabling many people to identify different species of hummingbirds that might not have been identified before. This would explain the apparent increase in the number of hummingbirds being seen in winter.
The increase in warm weather during the past several years may explain why vagrant hummingbirds have wandered further than normal. Habitat destruction may also offer an explanation why more hummingbirds have been forced to wander. The traditional wintering grounds of the hummingbird, in the tropics, may have been destroyed thus forcing them to wander.
There is no exact date on which a hummingbird feeder should be taken down. There are many reasons why there might be an increase in the number of hummingbirds being seen in winter. These include the following: an increase in the number of feeders available, the Internet, increasingly warmer weather, and habitat destruction.
Related Products
Hummingbird Feeder
This hummingbird feeder is made of glass and metal and it features a 12 OZ glass bottle, brushed copper accented top and base, 4 red metal&n...
9OZ Hummingbird Feeder
This hummingbird feeder is a classic that features four feeding as well as bee guards and perches. This hummingbird feeder holds 8 oun...
PERKY PET-DIV OF WOODSTREAM #702 Blossom Humming Feeder
This feeder features three feeding stations. This feeder comes with chain to make hanging it simple and easy to do. It also comes with...
Read the next About Hummingbirds article on Basic Characteristics of Hummingbird Behavior
