By Mary Reid Barrow

This pretty little hummer is yet more proof that the hummingbird population is alive and well in Virginia Beach this winter.

Trista Imrich took this photo in her in Alanton yard last week. This is the fifth year she has hosted the little birds in her garden for the winter.

After Cindy Moneta’s photo of her Christmas Day visitor ran in last week’s Nature Notes, I have been hearing from more and more of you about your tiny winter visitors now and over the years

Perhaps the hostess with the mostest is Sue Barton Harris who lives in the Sandbridge area. Sue checked her gardening journals and realized that hummingbirds have been visiting her every winter since 2013!

I wonder why? Is the Sandbridge area not only warmer just because it is farther south in Virginia Beach but also because it has the added advantage of the nearby ocean’s moderating temperatures? I have read that there have been areas of wintering hummers on the North Carolina coast for years.

I did have this little hummer, above, spend the winter with me at the North End in 2014. She was the only one, and I’ll never forget the experience, until both my neighbor, Jenny Johnson, and I have had several, either stay around or visit for the past two winters.

Nancy Gorry in Kings Grant remembers the day well when she began to understand that she might be a winter hostess for a hummingbird.

“I was expecting to take the feeders down in early November, but on November 1, there was a hummer at one of the feeders!” Nancy wrote. “And since that day, 11/01/23, we have seen hummers nearly every day.”

Though that first year, her summer hummers were long gone before the winter one arrived, she believes now that she gets a combination of both regulars and migrators.

She says the little birds like to hang out in the clethra bush that grows next to her garage wall.

“The brick must retain a little heat, and it’s somewhat sheltered,” Nancy said. “They are amazing little creatures!”

William Petty in Linkhorn Park reported that he has had hummers two years running. And Karen Harris in Wolfsnare Plantation wrote that she is hosting the little birds for the first time this year.

Hummingbirds really are an interesting and fun addition to winter wildlife in the yard. On the other hand, I must admit I feel a weighty responsibility in freezing weather to get a supply of unfrozen water out at dawn for the early rising little birds.

I now know that the hummingbird formula of one cup of sugar to four cups of water freezes at about 4 degrees less than straight water. Still, worrying about those tiny birds when the temperatures drop is not fun.

Look back at last week’s Nature Notes for some tips to help ease your mind a little about those freezing mornings.

From the large to the small: buzzards, vultures and hummingbirds!

It looks like our little visitors are here to stay so we might as well get used to it!