Date: 2/25/26 10:15 am From: Gene Beall via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Hummers sharing feeder
We keep several hummingbird feeders year-round and put heater-lights under them when the temp is going to drop below 30 or so to keep them from freezing. We find that both sexes tolerate other individuals of either sex much more during the winter months, and especially so during the first feedings in the morning and the last feedings just before dark.
On 2/25/26 9:04 AM, Faye McAdams Hands via Tweeters wrote: > Hi Joan & Mark, > I was just reminded of your posts this morning as I saw 2 females on > my deck feeder and 1 male on my feeder by the fence, both in my > backyard. When the male finished his breakfast, he flew over to the > feeder on the deck and chased off the 2 females and then flew off > himself.....screaming something like 'cooperation is > over-rated'......I couldn't quite tell from inside my house. > > This also reminded me of a time 2 years ago, during a snowy January > day, I had 7 females on the deck feeder! (with only 5 ports to drink > from). This portion of the deck is covered, so protected from rain, > snow and much wind. They all sat for quite awhile, all equidistant > apart, and occasionally taking a sip of sustanence. > > Happy Birding, > Faye > > Faye McAdams Hands > > Belfair, WA > zest 4 parus AT hotmail dot com > > Life is Simple -- Eat, Sleep, Bird. > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > *From:* Tweeters <tweeters-bounces...> on > behalf of Mark Reinitz via Tweeters <tweeters...> > *Sent:* Tuesday, February 24, 2026 10:55 AM > *To:* Joan Miller <jemskink...> > *Cc:* <tweeters...> <tweeters...> > *Subject:* Re: [Tweeters] Hummers sharing feeder > Hi. > > My wife and I were just talking about the same thing! There were 2 > females on the feeder this morning. This has happened several times > lately. There were even times when a male sat on a nearby branch > without shooing them away. Not something we’ve seen often. > > Mark Reinitz > Sent from my iPad > >> On Feb 24, 2026, at 10:35 AM, Joan Miller via Tweeters >> <tweeters...> wrote: >> >> >> Hi Tweets >> >> This winter hasn't been that bad, but I have seen many more instances >> of more than one hummingbird at a time at my feeder. They never used >> to tolerate another at the same time. Now I see two and occasionally >> a third using the feeder at once (there are four ports). Always >> females, but once in a while a male will join them. I think it's >> unusual. Maybe this behavior will change in spring and summer. >> >> Anyone else notice this sharing behavior? >> >> Joan Miller >> West Seattle >> jemsink at gmail dot com >> _______________________________________________ >> Tweeters mailing list >> <Tweeters...> >> http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters > > _______________________________________________ > Tweeters mailing list > <Tweeters...> > http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters _______________________________________________ Tweeters mailing list <Tweeters...> http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters
