When I began working with hummingbirds more than 40 years ago, it was a common practice for Georgians to take down their hummingbird feeders in September; this was done because many folks subscribed to the popular belief that, if you left your feeders up past August, you would entice the birds not to migrate.  We now know that hummingbirds migrate due to declining day length and not the availability of food.  As the days become shorter, ruby-throated hummingbirds begin storing fat the fuel needed to complete their long migration.  When it is time for them to leave, abundance of nectar-bearing flowers and hummingbird feeders stocked with sugar water cannot keep them from making this epic trip.

       If you keep your feeders up, you will help provide late migrants with a much-needed source of food.  In addition, it gives you the chance of having your feeders visited by a western hummingbird.  The hummer you are most likely to see in Georgia from November through February is the rufous.