Record number of hummingbirds admitted for care at B.C. wildlife rescue during snowy cold stretch

The prolonged snow and freezing temperatures over the past few weeks on B.C.'s South Coast are also having a significant impact on some local wildlife.

Linda Bakker with the Wildlife Rescue Association in Burnaby said staff have been caring for an unprecedented number of hummingbirds, when they normally see only a few in late December.

“The last week of December, we usually see a handful of hummingbirds, and now we see 10 times more,” she said. “We had an intake day of 15 hummingbirds in one day.”

The association’s co-executive director said the fast-flying birds have a high metabolism and finding food to fuel themselves has become more difficult as feeders freeze.

“We see them dehydrated, emaciated, lethargic,” she said. “Sometimes when they do try to feed from the feeders, their tongue actually freezes to the feeder.”

Bakker said Thursday there are currently about 20 hummingbirds in their care. The tiny patients can also require hand feeding every 15 minutes, and they aren’t the only creatures needing help in higher numbers.

“We see a lot of...red-breasted sapsuckers,” she said. “They live on higher elevations and they come down to the city, so they are struggling to find food.”

The influx comes at the end of what’s already been an unusually busy year overall, marked by extreme weather.

“We had over 6,000 intakes. The year before we had about 4,800,” Bakker said. “All the environmental events definitely have an effect on the wildlife, and on our operations... today a lot of the volunteers can’t come in because they’re stuck in the snow.”

On southern Vancouver Island, the BC SPCA Wild Animal Rehabilitation Centre, or Wild ARC, reported caring for 3,128 patients last year, overtaking the previous high of 3,066 in 2017.

The organization’s manager for wild animal welfare, Andrea Wallace, said in winter, a lot of the creatures that show up are injured by cars, or in some cases, they see birds that have become ill from eating at a contaminated feeder. She said intense weather can also have an impact.

“Food water and shelter are the three main things that all living beings need...and during these extreme events some of those can be more challenging to find,” Wallace said. “In these subzero temperatures, people could put out a bird bath or some other water source and making sure that water is changed daily...you could also bring a hummingbird feeder in at night.”

She also recommended cleaning birdseed feeders regularly and thoroughly, and added if people find wild animals hiding on their properties in the winter, they may just be sheltering, and disturbing them may cause them to lose valuable energy.

While warmer temperatures are on the way, until the snow is gone, Bakker expects more birds will need help.

“For hummingbirds right now, feeder care is really important,” she said. “Keeping it clean, preventing freezing, and giving the right food...plain sugar water is best.”

For tips on how to keep a hummingbird feeder from freezing, and when you should call for help with a bird, visit the Wildlife Rescue Association online.

The BCSPCA also has information online about wildlife behaviour and needs in the winter, and how to avoid vehicle collisions with animals at this time of year.