When You Should Remove Your Hummingbird Feeder (Most People Get It Wrong)

Every September thousands of feeders come down because people believe they're helping birds migrate. Banding data from over 12,000 ruby-throated hummingbirds shows the opposite. 📖 The book I mention in the video — The Birds You're Missing: bill.myreads.store Juvenile hummingbirds are still moving through yards in late September and October, some not starting south until mid-September. A bird that normally weighs 3 grams needs to pack on 3 more grams of fat for the 18 to 22 hour nonstop flight across the Gulf of Mexico. Your feeder in September and October is a refueling station where natural nectar is already declining. A juvenile arriving on September 22 with thin reserves finds an empty hook and burns another 15 to 20 minutes of fuel searching, covering 12 miles instead of 20 that afternoon. Researchers estimate 20% to 40% of juveniles don't survive their first migration under normal conditions. When nectar sources disappear early that number climbs. The method that works: leave feeders up until you've seen zero hummingbirds for two full weeks. In spring, reverse it and put feeders out two weeks before expected arrival. Gulf Coast, Southern California, and parts of Arizona host year-round populations that need feeders through winter. The standard ratio stays 1 part white sugar to 4 parts water. Change nectar every 2 to 3 days above 70°F, every 4 to 5 days in the 60s, weekly when cooler. Hummingbirds get 60% to 70% of their nutrition from insects, not sugar water. Plant native flowers in sequence from April through October and let a corner go wild for the spiders and aphids they hunt.