The short version: leave it up. A feeder full of fresh nectar does not keep a hummingbird from migrating, and taking it down early helps nobody. Keep it clean and keep it out for about two weeks after you see your last bird.
The myth, and why it will not die
Somewhere along the way people started believing that a hummingbird will skip migration if there is an easy meal in the yard, and that the responsible thing is to pull the feeder down in August to push them along. It sounds like common sense. It is wrong.
Hummingbirds migrate on day length, not on how full your feeder is. The Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute states it plainly: leaving feeders up late in fall does not stop migration, because the birds respond to changing day length. Their internal clock sets the date. Your feeder does not get a vote.
So when should you actually take it down?
Two weeks after your last sighting is the rule of thumb worth following, and it exists for a reason: the bird at your feeder in late October is very often not one of your summer regulars. It is a straggler from somewhere north of you, burning through a long trip, and a full feeder on a cold morning is exactly what it needs.
Roughly, by region:
- Gulf Coast and the southern US — mid-February to early November, and in year-round hummingbird areas there is no need to take feeders down at all.
- Middle latitudes — early-to-mid April through late October.
- Farther north — early May to late September.
Those are the Smithsonian’s regional windows. For something closer to home, we keep arrival and departure dates for your state, split by region within the big states.
The one thing that does cause harm
Not the feeder. The state of the feeder. Nectar ferments fast in warm weather and grows black mold in a neglected port, and a dirty feeder is worse than no feeder at all. If you are going to leave it up into the fall, commit to cleaning it.
In cooler weather, clean and refill at least once a week. In hot weather, at least twice a week. See our nectar recipe and cleaning schedule for the detail.
What about hummingbirds in winter?
In parts of the South, and across much of the West Coast and desert Southwest, some hummingbirds simply never leave. Anna’s Hummingbirds are present year-round from California up into British Columbia. Along the Gulf Coast, Rufous and Black-chinned Hummingbirds turn up at feeders in the dead of winter. If you live in those areas, taking the feeder down in October means closing the only reliable restaurant in town.
Sources
- Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute — hummingbird nectar recipe and feeder guidance
- National Audubon Society — regional hummingbird presence and year-round ranges
Last reviewed: October 2026.