< 30" from the back porch

A bit of cheating here. This Male Anna’s hummingbird came in to a feeder early last year and was in pretty sorry condition. Completely exhausted and all puffed up. We put up a heat lamp on the porch and moved the feeder in even closer and it stayed there all the first night, within a couple of days it was looking like this and we were able to turn off the heat lamp.

How nice that you were able to help this guy out, Dennis. As a bonus, you got a fine photo with the colors in the gorget at the top and cheek glowing well…

Beautiful image of this little guy, and a very kind thing for you two to do.
Another trick is to bring the hummer feeders in at night, and put them out again first thing in the morning, nicely-warmed overnight by your indoor heat.
A warm breakfast helps a lot to perk them up on cold mornings.
S

This little guy looks quite content, Dennis. The details and colors in the bird are amazing as is the OOF BG. Glad you were there to help him out.