Have your hummingbirds stuck around?

Our humming birds don’t stick around all year because it gets very cold in the winter. They first appeared in July and they are still around. I’m refilling the feeder almost weekly. My daughter took this photo from our living room window on August 30th.

I’m so thankful that we don’t have a wasp problem. I don’t know how to help with that. Sorry.

It would be suicide for a hummingbird to hang around here. Freezing weather will start in a few weeks. We can go the entire month of January with the temperature never getting above freezing! All the plants are dormant and dessicated. Unless they can drill into a block of ice there would be no food. Global warming sounds pretty good to me – Sorry, Bangladesh..

The bee guards on the feeder seem to discourage wasps. They do hang around though. If I see a wasp or yellow jacket nest I hit it Raid bee and wasp spray.

I think ours may have left in the last few days. I haven’t seen them lately and it’s usually around this time they head South. Feeders with bee guards work pretty well to keep the wasps at bay.

Yep, several species are year round here in CA.
Annas is one.
I just filled the feeder yesterday. They go through a quart about every 4 days here.

That’s cool. Do you know why they seem to be hanging out longer this year? Have you noticed any patterns changing?

I’ve still got them around(southern Maine), but the males have already gone. They migrate first, then the females are usually gone by the end of Sept.- beginning Oct. So they aren’t around unusually late yet. There are feeders available with wasp guards; other than that, I don’t know. We actually had almost no yellowjackets this year- yippee!!! I hate those little bastards….

@ccrow My hubs says the males go early to scout before the females arrive. Nice of the chaps!

I’ve been having wasp versus hummingbird fights, and I go out there and swat the wasps away. I love my little hummingbirds but it’s getting to be a ft job…lol

@KNOWITALL Are you talking to me? haha
In winter they go into a torpor during severe cold ( we get some snow and very cold temps. here in the Sierra foothills, down in the teens and twenties at time. They are able to drop their metabolism and heart rates and sort of go into a stupor to survive.
We get the Rufous species too but they go away, somewhere in the winter.

@Coloma Now I am…lol

So are there no such things as hummingbird houses that may keep them around year long?

@KNOWITALL No, it;s all about geography.

Still here so far, but that’s not unusual.

I had one (the ruby-throated, of course) several days ago, but it was an unseasonable 90˚ an there were still some red bee balm in bloom. He and the Missus. have split for Jamaica by now.

I’ve never seen one of those in real life. I’d like to though, they seem cool.

To keep wasps away try soaking some cotton balls in Olde English LEMON oil polish.

I asked a Q about wasps a short time ago and one person suggested lemon oil based upon experience she had. Once she used it on a piece of furniture she had placed outside and they avoided it completely (compared to prior to using the lemon oil).

Getting it in a fairly large bottle from a regular store will be a whole lot less expensive than just a small bottle of essential oils at top dollar in a health food store.

@Symeline We love birds & if you sit still, they get real close, it’s magical!

Our bluejays are rednecks. They go after my cat like wild things. Of course, the cat deserves it.