Emerald Cruiser
It is 15°F/-9°C and I am worried about the Anna’s hummingbirds. My friend said that a hummingbird was dead on his feeder but I suspect it may have only been in a slowed down torpor state which they do to conserve energy. When I taped a small light bulb to the bottom of my feeder to keep the sugar solution from freezing, it became the hummingbird-warm-yourself place to go.
I read general posts on the internet about hummingbird feeders being the reason that these little birds now live all year here but I question that. I see them sitting in the top of a bush, then quickly flying out to catch a small winter flying insect or something, land in the same branch, flick its beak and tongue, then do it all over again, much like a flycatcher captures flying insects. I suspect that this is their main sustenance and the sugar water supplements. I didn’t pursue due diligence to find all research on this but do have a this study to share with you. It was done out of Idaho where the Anna’s live in an even colder climate than me! https://www.boisestate.edu/ibo/science/winter-hummingbirds/. The published article is here: https://archive.westernfieldornithologists.org/archive/V52/52(1)-p058-p067.pdf