If you want to keep your feeder defrosted like one of the pros, go to
the local plumbing supply store. Not Lowes or Home Depot, they will only give you a blank stare. Here in Bend try Searing's on N.E. 2nd street. Invest the $8-10 for a clamp-on light fixture that looks like this (photo here).
Plug in a 125 Watt Infra-red light bulb, but don't get the red-glass type. Get an I.R. bulb with clear envelope, it casts a more natural light. Hang it using the adjustable, integrated clamp so it points at the feeder from one or two feet away. This is the way plumbers defrost frozen pipes. I plug mine up to a timer so it comes on an hour before sunrise and clicks off an hour after sunset.
Tuesday, December 19, 2006
Keeping hummingbird feeders from freezing
The following tip comes from David Tracy, posted to the OBOL email list. David has a rare Costa's Hummingbird coming to a feeder in freezing cold Bend, Oregon. So, if you live where it gets cold, but want to keep a hummingbird feeder out (because who knows what kind of rare hummer you could get in the winter), here you go:
What a great way to keep the feeder fresh and defrosted! Looks like a bunch of work but should be well worth the effort to get an unusual hummingbird like that!
ReplyDeleteHello,
ReplyDeleteI live in Portland, and the whether has been really cold- I'm wondering if you are having success with that hummingbird feeder light- and you losing any bulbs? Are you keeping the light 1 or 2 feet away from the feeder? I'm assuming that those bulbs get much hotter than regular- that is why you must keep it at such a distance? Thanks.
Tessa (dirtdigger)
www.blossomsnblunders.blogspot.com
I went right out and purchased a heat lamp and it really works. I have had to rotate the feeder a little because of the east winds, but the hummers are happy today and I don't have to bring in the feeder every 30 minutes or so. Thank you for posting this!
ReplyDeleteNot wanting to risk the chance of fire while I am at work, I opted to take some hand-warmers (from Costco) and duct-tape them to the feeder just above the feeding holes. They keep the liquid from freezing and don't seem to bother the hummers!
ReplyDeleteI just spent yesterday and early this morning running in and out of the ice and snow changing hummingbird feeders so they would have fresh food so I am delighted to find this solution, especially sonce we are suppose to be getting a horrible winter, the worse in decades! Thank you, Sandy, Mountlake Terrace, WA.
ReplyDelete