Hummingbirds will only eat at night if artificial lighting is used within their surroundings allowing them to see more. If so, they will be open to feeding well into the night, especially when the weather is on the warmer side at summer. When migrating they may come to feeders at night to top up before flying off again but, once again this isn’t a common occurrence.

When Would Hummingbirds Eat At Night?

Hummingbirds will only eat at night when artificial lighting con them in to believing the sun has not yet set. Naturally, as they aren’t nocturnal, hummingbirds will only eat when they sun rises and will stop eating around 30 minutes before the sun has set. Therefore, if their environment isn’t fully pitch black or close to being as such, they may stay up and continue eating beyond their bedtime.

The other instance when these birds may eat beyond their normal hours is when they happen to migrate through the night.

Of course in this case, it’s more likely that a hummingbird would not to eat until the end of journey after they’ve found a resting place to enter the torpor stat before waking up the following day, or if it’s a roufous hummingbird, eating before setting off again.

The main reason hummingbirds eat so often is down to their extremely high metabolism which means they need to consume something every 15 to 30 minutes. This is why if they need extra resources in their body, they will consume a little more food to sustain them throughout the night when resting.

Do Hummingbirds Come To Feeders At Night?

This once again will depend on whether artificial lighting is keeping the feeder lit or not. In most instances, as hummingbirds are diurnal creatures, they will not even be awake to even consider eating at the feeder set out for them.

In very rare occasions they may be awake to consider the opportunity to feed at night such as when they’re making a small pitstop on their migratory passage or even if they want to fuel up a bit more before hitting their torpor state.

You could say that although rare, there’s still a possibility that hummingbirds could visit your feeder, with those taking a migratory passage more likely to top up before flying out again.

What Is Eating From Your Hummingbird Feeder At Night?

Hummingbirds aren’t the only animals that will consume the sugar water within your feeders, especially at night. The more common eater would generally be nocturnal mammals like bats, squirrels, bears, racoons etc.

Realistically the only way to stop other animals from feeding from your feeders and potentially damaging it (bears or racoons) you could take it down at night or keep out of the reach of squirrels or any other smaller animals by placing them higher up.

Depending on the situation around you, there may not be any other animals that feed from it but, if bears or raccoons are present in your area and you don’t want your feeders to get damaged, taking them down at night may be worth doing.

However, if these instances of damage are quite rare, I’d suggest weighing up your options to see what makes the most sense to do.

How Late Should You Leave Your Hummingbird Feeder Out?

You should be fine leaving the feeder out all night but, if say you don’t have any visitors for an extended period of time(like 10+ days for example) it may be worth taking it down. 

This will often be necessary once the breeding season has passed although, do check to see if some hummingbirds are winter residents, in which keeping the feeders out at night may do some good for them. With that being said do bear in mind that you will need to maintain the feeders more as the contents are more likely to freeze up.

Summary

In the end of the day although hummingbirds can eat at night, it isn’t a very common thing at all. The more likely scenario is that the food within will be consumed by other animals like bats, bears, racoons etc.

The only times when you may see the occasional hummingbird eating from the feeder at night is when artificial lights are keeping the birds awake or when some are making a migratory passage through your state, in which case they may be making a small pitstop to fuel up.

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