Cold weather coming this week, get those hose bibs covered...

Brian Miller said:
BTW, when it comes to winterization, don't forget our backyard feathered friends. Our hummer feeders were frozen this morning so I brought them in to thaw and refresh the sugar water (1:4). I also brought out my DIY feeder heaters and got mobbed by hungry hummers as I was clipping the heaters on the feeders and routing-securing the cables.

NFR - Hummer Hearth - (hummingbird feeder heater)

Just thought this might be of interest to some of you after seeing @Brian Miller post a photo of his hummingbird feeder with lights keeping it warm on the weather thread. For the past couple of years we've used a clever WA made product called a Hummer Hearth that clips onto the bottom of the...
pnwflyfishing.com pnwflyfishing.com

NFR - Hummer Hearth - (hummingbird feeder heater)

This did not work for us at 25oF or less...we use a cheapo aluminum shop light with a 60W bulb attached with twine, we've had hummingbirds below zero...pretty amazing they stay around...
pnwflyfishing.com pnwflyfishing.com
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*adding BTW a 7 watt bulb suggested in @Josh 's post worked fine in the DIY feeder heaters up under the eves through the coldest temps we had last winter in South Puget Sound area @400'. I did simply turn the lamps off when temps were above freezing.
Josh said:
What wattage bulb did you have in the Hummer Hearth? The 7w bulb does kinda crap out in the lower 20's. The FAQ on their site claims (optimistically I think):

- A 7-watt bulb will work down to about 20F (-7C)
- A 15-watt bulb will work down to about 10F (-12C)
- A 25-watt bulb will work down to about 0F (-18C)
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Kind of early to be 13⁰ out, but here we are.
Wind most of the day kept things from heating up too much...got to 19 after 14⁰ this morning.
Hell, might hit single digits here, a first for us.
 
On of the reasons I moved here was to avoid this kind of weather. After growing up in VT and the mountains of CO I confess these old bones no longer deal well with the ice and snow. Hard to believe I used to live for it. 10 degrees at the house when I got up this morning. Even the bathroom with the heated tile floor was chilly.
 
Started the day at 2 degrees and it shot right up to 5... with notable wind. The sun came for a bit. The Yakima had a surprising amount of ice given it just got cold the night before. It's very low so I expect ice jams in various places, not just down Roza way.
 
Brian Miller said:
*adding BTW a 7 watt bulb suggested in @Josh 's post worked fine in the DIY feeder heaters up under the eves through the coldest temps we had last winter in South Puget Sound area @400'. I did simply turn the lamps off when temps were above freezing.
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Forecast for overnight
1000005859.jpgMy weatherstation
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Will the feeder stay above freezing tonight? :unsure:
 
Birds expend a lot of energy to stay warm on days/nights like this. Please make sure the feeders are available during the day to help them survive.
 
It’s fun to put the feeder out at first light and the hummingbirds are ready. They don’t feed at night though. I also like to toss extra seeds right on the ground during these cold or storm events. I had a varied thrush joining the towhee, sparrows, juncos and chickadees.
 
RCF said:
Birds expend a lot of energy to stay warm on days/nights like this. Please make sure the feeders are available during the day to help them survive.
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While this is generally true as most birds are endotherms, hummingbirds and some other birds can allow their body temperatures to drop at night, by as much as 10-30oC (see here), a state called torpor. This dramatically reduces their energy demands at night (as much as a 95% savings). It does make them vulnerable to predators as they cannot fly until they warm back up.
Steve
 
Woke up at 4 am and it was 6 degrees here. I've been on this place for 22 years and this is the coldest I can remember. The wood stove can barely keep up at these temps so we've had to turn on a couple of space heaters.
 
Matt B said:
I think the hummers are asleep; you could probably bring it in for the night. 😁
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True! But the heaters are a small hassle to take off - put on and will need to be on all day at these temps, so I'd like the feeders to stay outside if the heaters will handle the cold.
UPDATE:
Screenshot_20240113-071239_My AcuRite.jpg
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With 7 watt bulbs the larger feeder is icing more at the top but the bowl is ice free and the smaller feeder has a little ice at the top.
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However the ice in the larger feeder appears to be causing a small amount of nectar to leak into & out of the light fixture that needs to be monitored - cleaned up, and I will probably pull it until it warms up a bit.
 
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Fox 12 in Ptld is reporting wind gusts of 80 to 100 mph. in the gorge....also know as the great wind tunnel of the Northwest. What would that make wind chill? if the temp was 20 degrees. Makes me feel warm and cozy at home.
 
My house is 70 years old. It always makes some odd creaking noises when I warm it up after getting up on these cold mornings. Very much much my own old body…..
SF
 
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