As we have Anna’s Hummingbirds, Calypte anna, in the area throughout the winter, we keep a hummingbird feeder stocked and in position on the deck at all times. However with the nightly temperatures here in Scappoose getting down to -10 °C (14 °F), raising the kitchen blinds to find that the feeder has frozen solid is becoming a daily occurrence.
You might wonder, as I often have, how these little birds survive the frigid temperatures. The secret is their ability to go into brief periods of torpor (somewhat like a short-term hibernation) in order to survive. Feeding as vigorously as they can during the daylight hours, they allow their body temperature to lower drastically at night in order to conserve energy and survive until the morning.
Thus, as I have come to expect each morning when I go outside to thaw the feeder, a cold and hungry but very much alive Anna’s Hummingbird is waiting nearby for me to get the sugar water flowing once again.
