By Michell De Leon Tyler, photos by Michell De Leon Tyler
It’s a chilly January morning in Creston, Montana, and outside my kitchen window, an Anna’s Hummingbird perches contentedly on a clematis vine beneath the glow of a warming lamp. “Anna” has been a resident visitor for four months now, and I look for her every morning when I have my coffee.
I noticed Anna in mid-September, when some of the perennials in our backyard were still in bloom, offering her nectar. Her favorite perch was on a mountain maple branch, where she would watch over me and chatter as I removed spent flowers in the perennial bed and prepared my garden for winter. Back then, when it was a warm 70° to 75°F, I enjoyed my coffee at the patio table outside. Anna would flutter close in front of me as if to say, “Good Morning!” How special she made me feel!
As October rolled in with lower evening temperatures, all the remaining flowers in the yard had frozen. The daily nectar Anna received from me was her only food source. I thought to myself, “She should be moving on!”
Research suggested the longer she stayed, the more likely she would overwinter in Montana. So I did my best
to keep her happy and safe. I covered her favorite perch, the clematis trellis, with a large umbrella to keep things dry, and I installed a heating lamp underneath it to keep her warm. To give protection from wind, cold weather, and predators, I attached a small Doug fir tree and some juniper and red osier dogwood branches to the bower. Anna watched as I worked. Once I finished, she flew in and perched beneath the heat lamp. It met her approval!
In addition to the original nectar feeder that I put outside for her daily, I keep a heated feeder under the umbrella hat won’t freeze when temperatures drop. I give her fresh food every day. The heater bulb is only 125 watts, but it could potentially sour the nectar in 24 hours. Since there are no more flying aphids or mosquitoes left for Anna to eat, I have supplemented her nectar with crushed mealworms, alternating Nektar-Plus supplements every other day. She always has both a feeder with a sugar water mixture and a feeder of water.
During the day, Anna perches outside on the mountain maple branches. She remains very active, sometimes chasing away nuthatches, chickadees, and juncos that might intrude on her space. She has the spunky attitude
of a survivor!
While we experienced a mild fall with no hard freezes, December temperatures dropped to single digits, and we had some very windy days. Anna seemed warm and happy in her sheltered bower, doing all the things hummingbirds do. I remain hopeful that she will continue to survive the winter here in Northwestern Montana if I keep helping her along.
You must be logged in to post a comment.