When to Take Down Hummingbird Feeders

The angry buzz of a hummingbird dive-bombing you as you refill the feeder is a familiar sound in summer -- and also winter, depending on your location. While you can take down most feeders by Oct. 1, leave at least one up until Thanksgiving, and if hummers are still feeding, don't take it down at all. Generally, you should leave a feeder up for at least two weeks after seeing the last hummingbird.

Hummingbirds migrate when the length of day shortens; healthy, mature birds cannot be stopped, whether or not feeders are available. Of the 340 hummingbird species in the Americas, only 17 nest in North America.

The ruby-throated hummingbird is the only hummingbird known to nest east of the Mississippi River. Its range extends from southern Canada to the Gulf, and it migrates south to Mexico and Central America for the winter.

On the West Coast, several species, including black-chinned, Rufous and calliope hummingbirds, migrate south to Mexico and return to British Columbia and the western states in spring. Costa hummingbirds migrate south to Arizona, Southern California and western Mexico in winter and return to central California, northern Arizona, Utah and Nevada in spring.

While most hummingbirds successfully navigate to their winter grounds, some go off course, resulting in western species being documented at East Coast feeders in winter. Leaving a feeder up all winter provides food to these off-course migrants and any ruby-throated hummingbirds that couldn't make the migration due to illness or injury.

A few hummingbirds don't migrate. Anna's hummingbirds overwinter in Washington, Oregon and California. Allen's hummingbirds in Southern California also do not migrate. While hummingbirds also eat small insects found in the bark of trees and amid the foliage in your landscape, leaving feeders up all winter provides quick energy when other food sources are scarce. Because hummingbirds are extremely territorial and a dominant male will aggressively guard a feeder, hanging more than one feeder helps the smaller hummingbirds stay well-fed and healthy.

If hummingbirds are sipping from a feeder during the winter months and severe weather is in the forecast, a little preventative care keeps the nectar from freezing. Placing the feeder under a patio or roof overhang and hanging a mechanic's trouble light next to the feeder may prevent the nectar from freezing. Alternately, an electric flexible heat tape, usually used to keep water pipes from freezing, wrapped around a feeder can keep it warm enough for the hummingbirds. In addition, clean the feeder weekly and refill it with fresh nectar to keep your overwintering hummers happy and healthy.

While feeders help keep the hummingbirds well-fed through winter, some winter-blooming plants are natural hummer magnets. The salvias, such as Mexican Winter Sage (Salvia holwayi) and Blue Black Mexican Sage (Salvia concolor), hardy in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 8 through 11, flower from autumn through winter.

Other hummingbird-friendly, winter-blooming trees and shrubs include flowering maple (Abutilon pictum), Japanese magnolia (Magnolia liliiflora) and Taiwan cherry tree (Prunus campanulata), all hardy in USDA zones 8 through 9. In colder climates, gardeners may prefer hardy shrubs such as camellia (Camellia japonica) and wild blueberry (Vaccinium spp.), which thrive in USDA zones 6 through 9.