The vast majority of hummingbirds migrate south at the end of summer, following the trail of still-blooming flowers down to spend the winter at warm latitudes like Mexico, Central and South America. You may have seen popular advice to leave hummingbird feeders out for two weeks after you’ve seen your last bird, just in case. But what do you do if they never leave?
As fall turns to winter you may find you have a persistent hummingbird that’s clearly not packing up and heading south. Or maybe you’ve already packed your feeder away for the season and happen to see one buzz by in the yard and scramble to get the feeder put back out. In either case you are probably wondering, what the heck are they still doing here? Isn’t it too cold??
Before we get into some ways that you can help hummingbirds in the winter, let’s learn a little more about winter hummingbirds.
Which hummingbirds stay during the winter?
There are several species of hummingbird that are now known to “over-winter” in the United States. Anna’s hummingbirds populations have slowly crept northward up the west coast of California since the 1930’s and now can be found as far north as southern Alaska. Many people in Washington and Oregon now report that they have Anna’s in their yard all through the winter.
Rufous hummingbirds have also been reported wintering far north in recent years. Thanks to backyard birdwatchers turning in their reports to eBird, the Cornell Lab of ornithology has data from 2012-2015 showing Rufous hummingbirds spending winters in Indiana, Wisconsin, Massachusetts, New York and Michigan.
These far north sightings are more sporadic than the southeastern United States, where you can find wintering hummingbirds (mainly Rufous, Allen’s and Black-chinned) in Florida, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama along the Gulf Coast. However the hub of wintering U.S. hummingbirds is the lower portion of Arizona along the Mexico border.
Why do some hummingbirds stay during the winter?
This is a questions that scientists and ornithologists are still puzzling over. One theory is that by remaining, they will be the first to claim the feeding grounds in the spring before the migrants return. Another theory says certain species might be trying their luck at staying rather than traveling the long migration path too late in the season and not being able to find enough food along the way to sustain the journey south.
It’s a big risk to fly from Washington to Mexico if you might run out of food halfway!
What do hummingbirds eat in the winter?
While your backyard feeder can provide them with their main source of fuel, hummingbirds need to eat more