Winter Hummingbirds

It's nearly mid December and cold out but there it is, my trusty old Perky Pet Four-Fountains hummingbird feeder, still hanging off the back deck.  Did I forget to take it down after the hummingbird season?  No.  Am I crazy?  Probably, but not because I keep my hummingbird feeders out all winter.  There are hummingbirds that spend the winter around here.  While not exactly plentiful, they are no longer considered rare.

I got interested in winter hummingbirds in the late 80's when customers would come in and tell me they saw a hummer in the winter.  I became dedicated to the search for these birds in 1990 when I was fortunate enough to attract the state's first Black-chinned hummingbird to a feeder behind my Roswell store.  That's when I met Bob and Martha Sargent of the Hummer Bird Study Group, who were just starting their research into this phenomenon.

Before this, the official number of hummingbird species found in Georgia was one - the Ruby-throated.  A few wintering Rufous Hummingbirds eventually put the species count to two, and my bird in 1990 made it three.  By then we all began to realize that this was not a fluke but a normal, natural event.  Today the official number of species known to have occurred in Georgia is twelve.  All of these other species have been found here during the winter.

Two of Bird Watcher’s employees, Julia Elliott and Karen Theodorou, are active in this ongoing research and hold the state and federal permits necessary to capture, identify, band and release hummingbirds.  They are already fielding several calls a week.  Keep a feeder out this winter and call one of the stores if you see a hummingbird between now and March 15^th - we'll be glad to put you in touch with one of our banders.  I have my feeder out, and I’m feeling lucky this year!