They still visit constantly. But I don't want them to feel welcome past the time when they should be headed out to Mexico.

Here is A link.
they answer a lot of questions.
https://www.audubon.org/news/h...r%20goes%20untouched.

I leave it up until they leave.

They know when to go.

after the regulars leave, I keep the feeder up for several weeks for some that may be passing thru for a gas and go.

quote:

Originally posted by hvactech:
after the regulars leave, I keep the feeder up for several weeks for some that may be passing thru for a gas and go.

I do the same thing.

Mine stay up through October.

How long do I leave mine up before they show up? All we get are ants getting into the sweet water and dying.

quote:

Originally posted by Muddflap:
I leave it up until they leave.

They know when to go.

Me too

3 weeks after you don't see any, according to one expert.

quote:

Originally posted by cparktd:
3 weeks after you don't see any, according to one expert.

+1

Here in the Pacific Northwest we have Anna's Hummingbirds that stick around all winter, and so are dependent on feeders. In mid-fall individual birds will stake out a feeder and defend it against all comers.

Their natural range runs as far north as about Santa Barbara, but over the decades they have followed humans up the coast.

We leave them up way late. We have to toss the fluid frequently as it goes bad. It's not a waste: I don't have a photograph, but we've had hummingbirds stopping at the feeder during an early snowfall.

quote:

Anyone know how long to leave the hummingbird feeder up?

Not this long?

In central Arkansas the hummers are still hitting my feeders constantly. I leave mine up to make sure the birds coming down from up north on their way south have a drink. Today we had over a dozen hitting the feeders.

On the coast in the SF Bay Area (Pacifica). We have a bank of Monterey Cypress trees @ 1/2 mile long where they nest and live year round.

Damn things drink me out of house and home!

I'm thinking of getting a few of them to work around the place, sing for their super.

Great to see them. Not afraid of humans for darn sure.

Yes, there's one or two that lay claim to the feeder and bully others away. Fun to watch them.

Seen 2 hitting ours here in Northeast Indiana
Yesterday afternoon. The Bees are really liking the The Oriole and Hummer Feeders

quote:

Originally posted by IndianaMike:
Seen 2 hitting ours here in Northeast Indiana
Yesterday afternoon. The Bees are really liking the The Oriole and Hummer Feeders

Yep, the orioles feed at ours in the Spring, when they're nesting. There's a downey woodpecker that visits ours frequently, too.

The humming birds started feeding very heavily last week, but the numbers have now tapered off. Probably the start of migration. My wife will leave it up until we see no more.

quote:

Originally posted by rburg:
They still visit constantly. But I don't want them to feel welcome past the time when they should be headed out to Mexico.

We keep several up year round, and they get used year round.

You won't be encouraging any to stay, because of the feeder; they don't.

We get a lot of other birds too. Some birds with longer bills like woodpeckers love the feeder, and managed to enlarge the feeding holes, and now we even have finches and other short beak birds that can feed there. We keep several feeders, and they get drained down in about three days.

We do get a steady string of hummingbirds though, even in the winter. We're in a warmer climate, so freezing isn't an issue, usually.