Each winter, dedicated hummingbird enthusiasts maintain hummingbird feeders throughout the winter in hopes they will attract a wintering hummingbird. Very few of us are successful in this pursuit. However, since November a blogger that lives in the Atlanta area has been hosting one of the rarest hummingbirds ever seen in Georgia. This bird is a female calliope.
Here is what hummingbird’s host has to say about this experience, “I have been hosting a calliope in my backyard since November 11 although she may have arrived earlier. At the time, I had an abundance of late blooming nectar sources but immediately fired up my sugar water and put out a feeder for her. During the artic blast we had a few weeks ago, I was able to keep the sugar water from freezing with rotations and hand warmers but have now purchased a heated hummingbird feeder should she somehow come back next year.”
As late as a couple of days ago, the bird was still patrolling her backyard.
The calliope is the smallest breeding bird in the United States and Canada. In addition, it is also one of the smallest birds in the entire world. It weighs about as much as a ping-pong ball (1/10 of an ounce) and is only three inches long.
