This is a truly magical time of year. Spring’s energy is working on over drive and every day is full of new surprises plus reacquainting with old friends in the form of flowers blooming, trees leafing out and insects and birds returning to our home gardens and landscape. One of my favorite rituals of spring is putting out my two hummingbird feeders. This year it was on Saturday, May 8th once the nights were consistently above 45 degrees. To my joy, as soon as I was back inside my house and looked through my kitchen windows at the feeders, I saw two male hummers, one on each feeder. This blog is a homage to one of my favorite ‘characters’, the Ruby Throated Hummingbird, a little star in my spring and summer garden experience. Evolutionary History: Scientist believe the first hummingbirds evolved in South America, near and around the Andes mountains around 22 million years ago. They originated from the swifts in Eurasia and crossed over the Siberian land bridge. The oldest fossils of hummingbirds are only 10,000 years old so much is left to conjecture. Once hummingbirds established themselves throughout South America, a few species spread to Central America, the Caribbean and eventually mainland North America. There are now nine distinct groups of hummingbirds today, all of which live only in North, Central and South America. Out of the 338 known species of hummingbirds in the New World, there are only 20 species north of Mexico and only one species, The Ruby Throated Hummingbird, east of the Mississippi River. Did you know that the hummingbird and tubular shaped flowers co-evolved? Both have shaped the other, one to have a longer bill and the other to have a longer tubular shaped flower. The hummingbird has profoundly affected the evolution of the New World flora via this tubular co-diversification. In other words, there would be no tubular shaped flowers if not for the cross pollination of hummingbirds, and hummingbirds would not have a long bill if not for the tubular shaped flowers. This is not an issue of which one came first, it is an example of one species co-evolving at the same time with another. Hummingbirds have also evolved with red flowers. The color red means food, and a flower with a good source of nectar. Nectar is to hummingbirds, as gasoline is to our cars. Noteworthy And Fun Facts About Hummingbirds: Everything about hummingbirds is extreme! They are the smallest bird species in the world ranging in size from the Bee Hummingbird of Cuba at just 2.4” to the Patagonia Hummingbird of Chile and Argentina at 9.1”, (measurement is from the tip of their beak to the tip of their tail). For their size, ounce for ounce, they are the most aggressive birds on the planet. The Ruby Throated Hummingbird adult is about 3.75”. The adult female weighs more than the male at about .1 to .12 oz, (the weight of a penny). A baby at birth weighs about 1/50 oz, (the weight of a 3” square post It Note). Only the male Ruby Throated Hummingbird has the red gorget, (bib), in his throat area under his bill. He flashes his gorget to ward off potential male rivals and also to attract females. Hummingbirds are the only birds that can fly upside down and backwards. They can also fly up, down, sideways and hover. They can perch. However, they can’t walk. Because they can hover and they are so talented at flying, they never learned or needed to learn how to walk. They have oversized chest muscles that are nearly a third of their body weight. This is the equivalent of 50 lbs of pectoral muscles on a person that weighs 150 lbs! They have a wing beat of up to 60 times per second. They can fly 30 mph and dive as fast as 60 mph with up to 200 wings strokes per second (in a dive) and 60-80 strokes /second in regular flying. They are able to do this because they move their wings in a unique figure 8 pattern as opposed to the up and down wing beat of other birds. This figure 8 pattern gives them constant lift. They have the fastest metabolism of any species on the planet. Their hearts can beat up to 1,260 times per minute in a dive and as little as 4 times a minute in a state of torpor. Torpor is a state of extreme non-mental and non-physical activity. Putting themselves in a state of torpor is the only way they can rest, and sleep and is also utilized to avoid harm from cold temperatures. Because they do not have down feathers to keep themselves warm, they must compensate by constantly moving and eating. They empty their full stomach every 20 minutes. They consume about half their body weight in bugs and nectar each day, more during the migration period. To help them get enough daily nectar, they have a split tongue that folds into two tubes that allows them to sip nectar up to 15 times per second. They must eat all day long and need to visit between 1,000 to 2,000 flowers a day collecting nectar. They are super pollinators. While visiting flowers, pollen collects on their heads and thus they pollinate all the flowers they visit while gathering nectar. Although their brain is the size of a BB, its memory abilities are amazing. They have the largest hippocampal formation in the brain of any bird. The hippocampus is tied to special learning. In hummingbirds it allows them to remember even the most minute details such as which specific flower species has the most nectar to offer and where to find it an any garden they have ever visited even if it was a garden they visited last year. This ability also will bring last years hummers back to your feeder! The female Ruby Throated hummingbird builds one of the most complicated nests of any bird species and it’s only the size of ½ of a walnut. Among other nesting materials, she uses spider webs to give it elasticity so it expands as her babies grow. Lichen is used on the outside of the nest as a camouflage. Hummingbirds have many predators including other birds, snakes, squirrels, chipmunks, cats, lizards, bats, and large insects such as the praying mantis. At best, only 20% of newly fledged birds make it through their first year. They can live up to 9 years but their normal life span is 3 years. The Ruby Throated Hummingbird like all other hummers in North America is a Neotropical bird. It nests in our country and migrates south for the winter because there is not enough nectar and insects here in our winters. It is a marathon migrator that can fly up to 2,500 miles to its winter home in Costa Rica including a nonstop 600 mile crossing over the gulf of Mexico. With good winds, this water crossing takes 18-22 hours. And, the Ruby throated humming bird does this twice a year! Hummingbirds need only water, nectar and insects as a food source. They have adapted and are thriving with the human population especially because many people have hummingbird feeders. And it’s easy to feed them. You just boil together I cup of white refined sugar and 4 cups of water. Let it cool and add it to your feeder. Gardening Tips To Attract Hummingbirds: Hummingbirds are most attracted to backyard landscapes that offer a variety of flowers, shelter and feeders. To hummingbirds the color red means food. Along with trumpet shaped flowers, hummers evolved with flowers that are red. The color red also stands out better against green or in low light. Finding the right flower quickly is especially important to hummers that need to visit 1,000-2,000 flowers a day just to get their daily requirement of nectar. Although various shades of red, pink and purple are favored, hummers also visit blossoms of other colors especially on trumpet shaped flowers. Here is a short list of plantings for your garden that will help you attract hummingbirds: Perennials: Monarda fistulosa (Bee Balm), Lobelia cardinalis (Cardinal Flower), Aquilegia canadensis (Red Columbine), Huechera sanguinea (Coralbells), Hemerocallis (Daylilly), Digitalis species (Foxglove), Agastache cana (Hyssop), Penstemon species (Penstemon), Phlox species (Phlox), Chelone glabra (White Turtlehead), Asclepias tuberosa (Butterfly Milkweed). Annuals: Delphinium cardinale (Delphinium), Nicotiana alata (Flowering Tobacco), Mirabilis jalapa (Four O’clock), Fuchsia species (Fuchsia), Alcea rosea (Hollyhock), Tropaeolum species (nasturtium), Salvia elegan (Pineapple Sager), Salvia splendens (Red Salvia), Antirrhinum majus (Snapdragon), Zinnias. Vines: Lonicera sempervirens (Coral Honeysuckle), Campsis radicans (Trumpet vine). Shrubs/Bushes: Azalea (some have trumpet shaped flowers), Kolkwitzia amablis (Beauty Bush), Buddleia alternifolia (Butterfly Bush), Chaenomeles speciosa (Flowering Quince), Hibiscus rosa-sinesis (Hibiscus), Aesculus pavia (Red Buckeye), Clethra altinifolia (Summersweet), Weigela florida (Weigela). Trees: Malus floribunda (Flowering Crabapple), Prunus (Wild cherries and wild plums), Crataegus species (Hawthorn), Liriodendron tulipifera (Tulip tree). Note: Hummingbirds get all their water needs met from nectar. However, when you add any water sources to your garden, you will attract more birds. They use the water to not only to quench their thirst but also to enjoy a daily bath. All birds need to keep their feathers in prime shape. Hummingbirds LOVE a fine mist. You can buy a mister device at a garden or bird store or when you are watering your garden, just switch to ‘Mist’ and watch how fast the hummers will find you and zip in and out of the fine spray! A reminder: Never use pesticides in your gardens or landscape! Pesticides destroy the insects that all birds including the hummers depend on and need as a critical part of their diet. A note on feeders: Please attach hummingbird feeders to the shady north or northeast side of your house, preferably near a window where you can easily observe them. If you place the feeders in the sun, it will heat the sugar water up and it will quickly become moldy. This moldy water, (it looks cloudy), can kill a hummingbird. Do not add red food dye to your sugar water. There is no red nectar in nature! For additional Fun: When refilling your hummingbird feeder with sugar water, wear a red hat or shirt. I suggest also wearing glasses or sunglasses. This is an opportunity to meet a male hummer up close and personal as it will think you are a rival in his territory and will try to scare you away. Enjoy! Reading suggestion: Fastest Things on Wings – Rescuing Hummingbirds in Hollywood by Terry Masear Each chapter tells you the story of an individual hummingbird Terry has rescued, rehabbed and released. Most of the stories end in success, a few don’t. By the end of this book, you will know what makes these birds so special, want to help them thrive and make them part of your summer experience. Next blog: In anticipation of the Monarch butterfly’s return, the next blog will be on this most popular of butterfly species.
1 Comment
Sissy ffolliott
5/15/2021 05:14:49 pm
You don’t need to spend the time or energy heating the water & sugar for the feeders especially in the hot summer. Just stir it up until it dissolves then refrigerate after refilling your feeders.
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