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RUBY-THROATED HUMMINGBIRDS ARE COMING HOME

Feb27

      For months ruby-throated hummingbirds have been wintering from Panama northward through Central America and southern Mexico.  Over the next few weeks these long-distance migrants will embark on their spring migration.

      The males are the first to arrive in the Peach State.  Typically, they reach extreme South Georgia as early as March 1.  From there they move steadily northward at a pace of roughly 23 miles per day.  Adult males reach my middle Georgia backyard toward the end of the second week in March.  The females follow the males about nine days later.

       With that in mind, if you are a hummingbird fancier, now sis the time to take a hummingbird feeder or two off the shelf, make a batch of nectar, pour some in a feeder, and hang it up in your backyard. Then all you can do is patiently wait for the arrival of your first hummingbird of the year.

       Here is a tip: do not fill your feeders to the brim.  This is because initially you will be feeding only one or two birds at a time.  Consequently, if you fill up your feeders early in the hummingbird season, most of the nectar will spoil long before the birds can consume all of it.

       For the past several years, I have been recording the arrival dates of the first male and female rubythroats.  With that in mind, I would greatly appreciate it if you would report the arrival the first male and female that you see.  Please include t the name of the county where you live when you file your report.

       I know you are excited, as I am that ruby-throated hummingbirds will soon be patrolling our backyards.  Beyond any doubt they enrich our lives.

CLOSE ENCOUNTERS WITH RUBYTHROATS

Sep26

      Ruby-throated hummingbirds exhibit many behaviors that endear themselves to us.  One of my favorites is their habit of flying right up to our faces, hover, and stare directly at us before suddenly zipping off.

       A couple of weeks ago, while I was hanging a feeder full of fresh nectar on a Shepherd’s hook, a hummer that was flying about anxiously awaiting me to complete my task so that it could resume feeding, flew up within a foot of my face and hovered. While he hovered there, I heard the humming of its rapidly beating wings. I stared into the bird’s dark eyes, and he stared back into mine.  It displayed no fear.  Then, in the blink of an eye, it was gone.

       Unbeknownst me, on the same day, half a state away my daughter was treated with a close encounter with a hummingbird of her own. While standing near the entrance to a veterinary office a hummingbird flew up to what appeared to be a red power cutoff switch.  The bird briefly hovered in front of the bright red switch and immediately flew to within inches of her face. The bird seemed to be transfixed with the red and black shoulder strap attached to the purse.  In a few seconds, it departed as quickly as it arrived, leaving my daughter trying to process what just happened.

 

       When events such as these occur, we never know why hummingbirds display this heart-stopping behavior.  In my case, I believe the bird did not shy away from me because it recognized my face; I am the one that has been refilling feeders at these locations for weeks on end. This belief stems from research that proves hummingbirds are capable of facial recognition.

       The reason why the bird flew so closely to her could possibly be it was checking out potential sources of food.  Since hummingbirds seem to associate red with food, perhaps the bird thought the red color on the shoulder strap and switch were flowers.  Who knows?

       In the end, it matters not why such encounters take place. The fact is such experiences happen more often with hummingbirds than any other bird.  As such, it helps make the birds so very special.

       It is always exciting to have a close encounter with a hummingbird.  There is something exhilarating about looking deep into its eyes.  When this happens to me, I cannot help but wonder what it is thinking about when it looks into my eyes.  What I do know is, when we experience a close encounter with a hummingbird, we are forging a link with the natural world.

        My wife and I have hosted a huge number of hummingbirds this summer.  Many days my wife prepared 16 cups of nectar to keep up with their seemingly insatiable appetite.  The combination of feeding and watching so many hummers and having a close encounter with one at the end of the season, caps off a hummingbird summer we will long remember.

 

BACKYARD SECRET—HOW FAR DO RUBYTHROATS MIGRATE PER DAY?

Sep11

        As we all know, the ruby-throated hummingbird migration is taking place right now.  With this in mind, have you ever wondered how far a rubythroat travels overland en route to its winter home?

       The answer is according to hummingbird experts the tiny birds that pass through our yards on their fall and spring migrations average flying 23 miles per day.

MORE ON JORO SPIDERS

Aug29

      Joro spiders continue to spread across Georgia.  Wherever they establish themselves, hosts of homeowners find themselves on the front line of battle against this foreign invader.  Recently, two of our fellow bloggers shared their experiences with these large predators.  Below you will find what they have to say.

Susan says:

I just freed a baby boy hummingbird from a Joro spider web.  I did not take a picture, he was screaming and fighting to get loose, poor baby, it took a while to pick off all the webbing and smooth out his feathers-after being a little frantic in my hand he settled down and let me turn him every which way to free him.  Luckily, when I was done, he flew away.  I sweep the webs down daily that are around the house and in the flower beds but I missed this one.  I live in Toccoa, Ga.  I hate Joro spiders and kill as many as I can.  They are not supposed to live here and are harmful to our natives.

Penny says:

Perhaps I can provide some information about how Joro spiders adversely affect hummers: the first point is these huge spiders weave very large webs, and their “silk” is much stronger than the average spider.  If you ever ran into one, you would know because you can literally hear snapping as they break.

Joros are very observant and intelligent creatures, and they weave their webs where their food of interest frequents.  There have been numerous reports of hummers flying into Joro webs that are merely inches from nectar feeders.  Hummers also encounter webs in large flowering bushes such as lantanas.  Joro web silk is incredibly strong, and hummers fly right into the webs and cannot free themselves.

It pays to visit your feeders and bushes and remove the webs periodically.  I hope this helps!

 

KEEPING UNWANTED CRITTERS FROM HUMMER FEEDERS

Aug25

        One of the things I like about writing a blog is that bloggers share techniques that they have found benefit their wildlife neighbors and/or to enhance our ability to provide a place for them to find food, water and shelter in our backyards.

       Here is a tip a blogger recently shared with us.

       Carol wrote, “Hang your hummingbird feeders securely on hooks installed under the eaves of your house.  Very few predators can access it.  I hang them outside our dining room windows on the shade side of the house to protect the sugar water from fermenting.  I put 2 or 3 pieces of blue tape on the outside window glass so the little birds know that they can’t fly through it.”

       Thanks, Carol, for sharing your hummingbird feeding tip!”

IT IS GLOSSY ABELIA TIME

Aug18

       If you are searching for a shrub that produces an abundance of blooms and nectar for hummingbirds, butterflies, bees and other pollinators, glossy abelia just might be the plant for you.

       From summer well into fall, a time when many flowering plants have already quit blooming or are slowly fading away, glossy abelia is in full bloom.

       This shrub is a hybrid that was once commonly  grown around homes during the first half of the 20th century. However, for reasons I do not understand, it fell out of favor. Consequently, it rarely graces new homes.

       However, there are a number of reasons for folks to find a place for it in their home landscapes. Glossy abelia is a medium sized shrub.  It is both deer and drought tolerant, produces beautiful flowers that provide food for honeybees, native bees, butterflies, hummingbirds and other pollinators.  However, it does not produce seeds.

       The shrub requires little maintenance.  About all you need to do to ensure it produces lots of flowers from year to year is the prune it in the winter or early spring. This is due to the fact  its blossoms form on new wood.

       Since the glossy abelias are in full bloom, this is a good time to check them out  at your local nursery.  If you are not familiar with the plant, I am sure you are going to fall in love with its small pinkish white, bell shaped blossoms and the fact this hard shrub requires little care.

BACKYARD SECRET – AMAZING RUBYTHROATED HUMMINGBIRD MIGRATION FACTS

Jul24

       Throughout the summer range of the ruby-throated hummingbird, these tiny birds are currently preparing for their long journey to their winter home in southern Mexico and Central America.  The fuel that will power this trip is stored at fat.  Those hummers that fly across the Gulf of Mexico to reach their winter headquarters can use all of its fat reserves during their 20-hour flight over water!

       As amazing as this sounds, consider the fact that while the birds are winging their way over water, their oxygen consumption per gram of fat muscle is approximately 10 times higher than an that of top Olympic athletes.

       I find it fascinating that the more we learn about hummingbirds, the more it becomes obvious that they are truly amazing creatures.

HOSTAS ARE HUMMINGBIRD PLANTS THAT WILL GROW IN THE SHADE

Jul21

       When we think of hummingbird nectar plants the plants that immediately come to mind are those that do well in direct sunlight.  However, if you are one of those homeowners that has a shady yard or portions of your yard remains shady throughout most of the day, you will be pleased to know that hostas are nectar-bearing plants that grow well in shady locations. In addition, hummingbirds regularly visit many of them.

       Hostas are native to Asia and are widely grown across Georgia for their attractive foliage.  There are some 70 species and more than 300 varieties of this hard perennial.

       While I am far from a hosta expert, the hostas that I grow in my yard produce beautiful long pink bell-shaped blossoms. Since my plants are pass-along plants, I do not know the name of the variety is rooted in my yard.

       One of the varieties that been people say is a hummingbird magnet is a variety known as lance-leaved hosta (Hosta lancifolia).

       While some gardeners report that the varieties of hostas they grow attract hummingbirds, others say the birds rarely use them. With that mind, if you are looking for a hosta that will attract hummingbirds in your neck of the woods, talk to local hummingbird gardeners as see what works for them.

       Another thing to keep in mind is some hostas are more deer resistant than others are.

       If you are lucky enough to locate the right variety for your yard, please share the name of this special plant with your fellow bloggers.

TIPS ON FEEDING RUBYTHROATS IN HOT WEATHER

Jul14

          Practically everyone that goes to the effort of attracting hummingbirds to their backyards offer the birds food in feeders. However, with daily temperatures throughout Georgia hovering in the high 90s and heat indexes soaring well above the century mark, maintaining nectar that is safe for the tiny birds to eat is a challenge.  Here are a few tips that you might consider adopting to ensure the health of the hummers that dine at your hummingbird cafe.

  1. Clean feeders at least twice as often during prolonged periods of high temperatures. Some people clean feeders twice a week during such times. If you do so, you will prevent the buildup of stubborn bacteria and fungus. Consequently, each cleaning will be much easier.

  2. Keep from offering hummingbirds too much food. Don’t fill feeders to the brim if they consume only a fraction of food every few days. This ensures the birds are always feeding on fresh food.

  3. If possible, move feeders to locations where they out of the direct sun during the hottest time of the day. This will help keep the sugar water from spoiling as quickly as it would in direct sunlight.

  4. Offer hummingbird food in glass feeders. Hummingbird food will not spoil as quickly in feeders equipped with glass reservoirs.  This is because glass is a better insulator than plastic.

  5. Try wrapping the reservoirs of your feeders with aluminum foil. Supposedly, aluminum foil will block UV rays and actually reflect 98% of the sun’s radiant energy, and therefore, keep nectar from overheating.  Folks are beginning to adopt this technique because some researchers are reporting that hummingbird nectar can get too hot.  Their studies suggest that hummingbirds feeding on sugar water heated to 102ºF can adversely affect their metabolic system.

BACKYARD SECRET – HUMMINGBIRDS CAN FLY IN THE RAIN

May22

        We have had more than our share of rain this spring.  While the rain resulted in our having to delay and even, cancel some outdoor activities. However, have you noticed that, except during the heaviest showers, hummingbirds were flying about and feeding?  How is this possible?

       One of the reasons is the hummingbird is able to fly while raindrops are pelting down on it because it has the ability to quickly toss off water droplets that fall on its head. The bird does this by rapidly shaking its head at a rate of 132 times per second and rotatig it 202 degrees.   In spite of all of this, the bird never has to change the direction of its flight.

       This is just one more example of why this fly jewel is such an amazing bird.