What is drinking my hummingbird nectar at night?

by Charles
(LOUISIANA)

What is drinking my hummingbird nectar at night?

Hi Charles

There are 2 culprets that I know of that could be consuming your hummingbird nectar at night.

Number one are bats. It is quite common for bats of many kinds to drink syrup from hummer feeders. Like Hummingbirds themselves they enjoy a sweet drink to wash down their nightly feed of bug protein.

Number two is Flying Squirrels. They have been known to cling to a syrup feeder and sip away. They could actually drain it quite nicely. Chewing it up a bit would not be uncommon either.

There are a couple of other animals which zero in on hummingbird feeders too, Bears and Raccoons. But they will usually destroy the feeder in the process.

If you are really stumped and don't mind the expense, you could set up a small video cam. They have come down in price and are very popular for setting up in bird houses to watch nestlings grow.

If you do find out what is stealing your syrup, please share it with us.

Happy Birding!

Judy