Hummingbird in Winter

The thermometer said 18 degree on my patio when I woke up at 6:15.  I rushed out and grabbed the frozen hummingbird feeder and set it in hot water to thaw.

Then I found my art lamp and WR found some wire to extend the feeder over the 60 watt bulb.

Minutes after returning the feeder with its warming light,  the sun began breaking over the Blues and streaming through the neighbor's almost leafless maple trees.

And then ...


The hummingbird has survived the freezing night and is enjoying my thawed out feeder above my lamp.  Now, what to do to make this a more permanent solution.

Already I have had suggestions from mug warmers, hand warmers, aluminum pie plates with Christmas lights, and plumbers tape. Of course, I would have to find one of my glass feeders for some of those options.

Any and all suggestions are welcome!

Comments

Far Side of Fifty said…
Oh my..but your solution worked ! Poor things don't they know it is winter:(
12:30 PM, November 21, 2013
Cynthia said…
I worked at a wildlife rehab center for a couple years, and we had a hummingbird that stayed too long and would not have been able to survive a Minnesota winter brought in to us. We got the bird a free flight to Florida with someone who had some free miles. The bird was banded and released and given a chance to be a hummingbird in a more friendly climate.
You could always fly it south.:)
1:00 PM, November 21, 2013
Nancy said…
How sweet of you to accommodate this lonely traveller.

Any chance that continuing to provide food is encouraging him to stay and not fly to a warmer climate?
4:22 PM, November 21, 2013
Intense Guy said…
I think I like Cynthia's idea!

What say you and your hubby fly south somewhere warm - it's for humanitarian (hummingbirdian?) purposes after all!
6:48 AM, November 22, 2013
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