ANNA'S HUMMINGBIRD - Written by Colin Bartlett

The first Christmas Bird Count record of an Anna’s Hummingbird in Nanaimo was in 1975. Since this time we have seen the population expand throughout many areas of Nanaimo, Cedar, Ladysmith, and Nanoose Bay, including higher elevations such as Westwood Lake and upper Lantzville during the winter. We also know of the Anna’s Hummingbird as far North as Alert Bay and Port McNeil area.

Last winter was hard on the Anna’s Hummingbird with all the snow and very cold temperatures but their abundance this past spring seems to shows that they survived the winter and the hardiness of such a small bird. A big part of their survival was the available sugar water provided by hummingbird feeders.

For feeding the hummingbirds just use regular white table sugar mixed with water at a ratio of one part sugar to three or four parts water. This mixture is good for the hummingbirds all winter and does not need to be increased when colder. Do not use honey as this could be fatal to the hummingbirds and red food colouring is also not necessary as there is red on the feeder to attract the hummingbird and they already know where the feeder is located. Change the sugar water every week and keep it fresh, even with the cooler temperatures the sugar water can go bad taking away a hummingbird’s source of energy on a cold day.

It is also good to bring your hummingbird feeder in at night so that the hummingbird will consume warm nectar in the morning keeping their body temperature up. If your feeder freezes have a second feeder available to replace it with while the other thaws out. To keep things really warm place your hummingbird feeder below a light bulb or heat lamp to keep it from freezing. During the real cold of winter it may also be necessary to remove the perches from your hummingbird feeder, as the movement of their wings or hovering will keep their body temperature up.

For hummingbirds to survive the cold winter nights they will find roosting place that is protected from the wind, rain and snow such as evergreen trees and shrubs or in a corner next to the window of a house and even in a greenhouse. The Anna’s need to find a good sheltered roost even though they have plenty of feathers they do not have any down feathers, so at night to conserve energy a hummingbird will go into a hypothermic stat known as torpor. This internal mechanism hummingbird will slow and lower their body temperature and metabolic rate so the hummingbird can conserve enough energy to survive the night and a little extra to start the morning.

Hummingbirds are fascinating creating and being able to observe them year round is quit a treat.

Good birding!

Colin Bartlett is a birder and proprietor of The Backyard Wildbird & Nature Store,