cold weather miscellany
totototo@telus.net (Thu, 10 Dec 2009 11:12:42 PST)
On 9 Dec 2009, at 13:06, Kenneth Hixson wrote:
I took the hummingbird feeders down in October when the honeybees got
too thick, put them back up when I saw more hummingbirds.
Yesterday morning the feeder was frozen solid, I microwaved it until
it thawed out. By 11 AM there were two hummingbirds fighting at the
feeder. This morning there was one sitting in a shrub nearby by 8 AM.
They must be able to hibernate overnight?
Hummingbird feeders in winter:
Make your syrup from 1 volume of sugar to 2 volumes of water. This will stay
liquid down to at least 20F. Perhaps someone with their chemistry in good
working order can calculate the actual freezing point depression of such a
concentration of sugar?
I notice other small birds seeking water during these freezes. If you can
figure out some way to keep a container of water from freezing, you will be
doing thenm a favor. Which they may return next year by eating pests.
--
Rodger Whitlock
Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
Maritime Zone 8, a cool Mediterranean climate
on beautiful Vancouver Island