GardenBanter.co.uk - View Single Post

Pennyaline · 13-09-2007, 11:04 PM posted to rec.gardens

wrote:
I'm in the Baltimore area. Is it time to take down the hummingbird
feeder, or will they know when to head south even if that food is
available?

Birds obey nature. Leaving the feeder up will not interrupt the call of
migration.

I leave my feeder up until I haven't seen a hummingbird in three weeks.
By that time, every bird that is going to migrate has done so. Don't
feel you need to leave it up after that point, as birds that haven't
migrated by then are probably too old or ill to survive migration thus
they will not survive staying put either. They needn't be fed by us at
that point. They've likely stopped trying to feed by then. That's
survival of the fittest, and the lower animals are much more compliant
with it than we are.