GET HUMMINGBIRD SAVVY

Ruby-throated Hummingbird - photo courtesy Sharon Milligan
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  Reader interest in hummingbirds always comes to the fore in July. From about mid-month until November, those who garden or maintain nectar feeders with hummers in mind often are generously rewarded, although sometimes the wait for that seems interminable.

   Frequent phone calls indicate that most readers don't understand hummingbird movements. They hosted hummers throughout March and April, numbers were reduced in May, and there has been very little activity since. Over much of the coastal area, that's normal. Here's where a little hummingbird savvy will help. East of the Great Plains, the only breeding hummer is the Ruby-throated Hummingbird, a Neotropical migrant. It arrives here on the north Gulf Coast from its winter quarters (Mexico, Costa Rica, Panama, etc.) in very late February at the earliest. It departs our area by early November. As with many other migrant species, adult males arrive here first followed by adult females. In fall, adult males leave the area first followed by the adult females and then by hosts of immature birds.

   This species breeds as far north as Eastern Canada, and the timing of its far-northward migration generally is later in spring and fall. Often in spring, a May cold front will provide us with a rush of hummers heading north; they linger no longer than necessary and move on as weather improves.

   Very few Ruby-throated Hummingbirds winter in the coastal counties. The words that we would use to describe its status here are these: "Fairly common breeding summer resident; may winter in small numbers."

   Why do most of us note a paucity of Ruby-throats during the nesting season? For one thing, they are not as garden- or feeder-dependent during this time, there being an abundant supply of insects as well as flowering shrubs and vines in the wild. For another, they tend to nest in riparian woodlands, often in places at a distance from the immediate coast. In the coastal counties, one might loosely interpret "riparian woodlands" as mature mixed deciduous-coniferous woodlands, as in Southern swamps. The hummingbirder who lives near proper habitat and perhaps a little bit inland does not experience the slump that, to those not so blessed, seems to extend into mid-July or even later.

   But joy! We are on the down side of the hummingbird drought!

   From late July, through August, September and October, hummingbird activity on the home front is a literal light show of jewel tones --- mostly reds, greens, oranges and golds depending on the angle between observer, the feather and the light source --- a phenomenon of feather structure rather than color pigment, accounting for unsuppressed oohs and aahs as well as mounting confusion, for in bad light, hummers appear dull green, brown or gray.

   By now our female hummingbirds are off the hook. After the mating game, she has done it all without help: built the nest, laid and incubated the (usually) two eggs, brooded and fed the young. It's a five-week or so process during which she might raise a second or even a third brood. She is finally on a vacation of sorts before preparations for fall migration begin in earnest. Likewise the handsome male, released from the hormonal urges that have fueled his search for as many willing females as time allows, is free to exploit the easy pickings of our gardens and feeders.

   But why do we see so many hummers in fall, when in spring the activity was sporadic, and hummers were relatively scarce? If we think about it, the answer comes easily. There are more birds (of virtually all species) on the fly in late summer. The majority of them are youngsters. Consider that if one adult female succeeds in raising just two young, it will double the number of hummers that made the spring migration. The young are new to the migration game, new to finding a food source. They take their cues from one another, and the easy offerings of a garden or feeding station are very attractive. Fall migration is typically leisurely, and hummers of any age are likely to remain attached to our gardens and feeders for much longer time periods.

   Depending on the efforts a particular homeowner puts forth, there could be swarms of hummingbirds visiting gardens and feeders. While adult males are easy to recognize, with their dark throat patches visible even in bad light, adult females and immatures are not so easy. They are similar, greenish above and drab white below, and that is why even experienced birders often list them as "adult female or immature" or "probably adult female." There is no shame in that, and there is good reason to do so, and I will address that next week in a related column.

   Hummingbirds move fast. Their wings move as many as 80 times a second in a motion like a sideways figure eight. They are capable of flying backwards, sideways, up, down or a virtual hover. That take energy --- translate that to the fuel they procure from flowers and nectar feeders --- and we can easily understand the lure of our gardens. In periods of rain or on very cold nights, a hummingbird conserves energy by entering into a torpid state, which lowers its body temperature and slows its heartbeat and breathing. Sometimes I hear from a caller that a particular bird is just sitting on a branch not moving. Chances are its in a torpid state.

   People wonder how many hummers they are actually seeing at any given time; there are wild guesses, but the best count I ever got was of well over 100 birds at the feeders of Dot and Egon Freese in Biloxi. Dot had more than 40 nectar feeders going. They hung about 10 inches apart from the roof overhang. I didn't believe her without seeing for myself. With about four ports on each feeder, all of which were occupied, as well as a dozen birds hovering above the feeders, my estimate was very conservative, and I would not have been surprised if the actual number had been more like 300 or 400. It is said that for every hummer one sees at a feeder, another three or four are up in the trees waiting their turns.

   These are very aggressive birds, and they don't like to share, especially since their lives depend on a good and more-or-less private food source, whether it's a feeder filled with sugar water or a particular shrub or flowering vine. But at times, especially during inclement weather or just before nightfall and at sunrise, there may be a stunning display of non-aggressive sharing.

   To assure your position as chief cook and bottle-washer to your own horde of hummers, you must be generous. One feeder is not enough. the more the better. Hang them out of direct sunlight, and if they are positioned in and around flowering shrubs, they won't interrupt the flow of one's garden. On the other hand, they may be hung in the open --- two, three or four from one multi-armed hanger or from the roof overhang or from hooks. Whatever works. Naturally you will want to place feeders where you can watch them from your own comfortable perch.

   Generally speaking, the tackier the feeder, the more attractive it is to a hungry hummingbird. Glass and plastic, adorned with red, work magic. Works of art, such as blown glass or pottery, are less than ideal. For one thing, they usually have only one feeding port.

   Keep feeders very clean, and keep the nectar fresh. Cleaning should be done at a minimum of twice a week, and unclaimed nectar should be replaced at least that often. Sugar water is easy to make. Remember the ratio of one cup of sugar to four cups of water, bring it to a boil to break down the sugar (I do mine in the microwave), and cool before filling the feeder. You may opt to buy packets of nectar which looks like Kool-Aid, and you just add water, but that can get expensive. (Editor's note - Judy was emphatic that you DO NOT add red food coloring to your hummingbird food.)

   While nectar feeders and great gardens work well in tandem, nectar feeders alone are sufficient, so don't let your brown thumb dissuade you from attracting hummingbirds.

Much of what has been written here applies not only to the Ruby-throated Hummingbird but to other North American hummers as well. In a few weeks we will explore a very exciting aspect of Southeastern hummingbirding, the possibility that another of the 11 species which have been documented in Mississippi in winter will choose to light up your garden --- and your life.

This article was published in July 2000