Birdlife: Spring hummingbird happenings

By Marcia Davis
Sunday, March 29, 2009

If you’re an April fool for hummingbirds, it’s easy to remember April 1 as a humdinger of a day - the day to hang the hummingbird feeders every year.

Ruby-throated hummingbirds keep to their schedules. Spring’s first migrant hummers usually arrive in East Tennessee in early April. Be ready.

The same individual hummers that visited your yard last year may come back this year. They’ll be looking for the feeder in the same place where it hung last year. Don’t let them find an empty space.

Nectar-bearing flowers can be in short supply this early in spring.

Hummers need high-energy sugar-rich fuel for migration.

The formula for homemade nectar is 1 cup white cane sugar dissolved in 4 cups of water. Boil gently two or three minutes to retard spoilage and to fully dissolve sugar. Store in refrigerator up to a week. Don’t use honey or artificial sweeteners. It is not necessary to use red food coloring.

After the feeders are up a few days, most of you will probably start wondering why you haven’t seen any hummingbirds yet. Check the hummingbird migration map at www.hummingbirds.net to see just how far along the ruby-throats are on their journey to nesting sites as far north as Canada.

Ruby-throat enthusiasts across eastern North America report their earliest hummer sightings. Different-colored dots on this year’s 2009 migration map show early arrival dates so far. Look at prior years’ maps for the complete picture. Over 5,000 people reported their first hummer sightings in 2008. Report yours in 2009. This year ruby-throats were sighted in Middle and West Tennessee by March 20. They usually arrive later in East Tennessee.

Between now and late April - when courtship and nesting activities begin - plant some flowering perennial hummingbird plants. Select some plants that bloom in April, when large numbers of hummers pass through on migration every year. Next April your yard will be even more attractive to migrating hummers.

April-blooming, nectar-rich hummer plants include wildflowers like wild columbine (with drooping pendants of orange-red and yellow tubular flowers) and blue woodland phlox. Dwarf red buckeye is a small native tree with red tubular flowers. Early-blooming crossvines, coral honeysuckle and yellow Carolina jessamine are April-blooming vines.

Flowering quince shrubs with red flowers start blooming in late March.

Piedmont and flame azaleas are native shrubs that attract hummers.

Offer water in a way that helps migrating hummers take a bath. Hummers wet and preen their feathers to keep them in top shape for flying. They don’t bathe by splashing around in bird baths. They shower.

Hummingbirds prefer to hover as they shower in a fine mist. Special leaf-misters for hummingbirds and other small birds connect to outdoor faucets. About 50 feet of small plastic tubing connects to a low-flow nozzle that creates a mist. Attach the nozzle to a tree branch to provide mist for hummers and to wet leaves for small birds that bathe in water held on leaves. Hummers will fly through the mist. You can also use a garden hose with the nozzle set to make a fine mist. Attach the nozzle to a tree limb or a stake in the ground.

Many people position a mister or garden hose nozzle to wet foliage above a ground-level bird bath. The sound of water dripping into the bird bath attracts more birds.

If you find baby wildlife, go to www.vbspcawildlife.com.Click on “The first thing to do…if you’ve found a baby bird” or “if you’ve found a baby mammal or duckling.”

Make your reservation today call 877-766-4273 877 SONG_BRD

www.songbirdprairie.com

male ruby-throated hummingbird

 We use these feeders as well as glass tubular feeders made from the coppersmiths at Holland Hill. 

 Bed and Breakfasts, Indiana is what to google to find the award winning Songbird Prairie, or www.songbirdprairie.com 877-766-4273

New tenants at your birdbath? Global warming may be to blame

by Amanda Hughes
March 18, 2009 

It happened so gradually you might have missed it.

For the past 40 years, birds have been making a nationwide run for the northern border, and a controversial recent study blames the warming climate.

In February, the Audubon Society released an analysis of data compiled over almost half a century that they say suggests that a slow, northbound shift of wintering grounds for almost every type of North American bird was directly linked to global warming.

More than 60 different bird species exchanged their current winter ranges — the areas they settle in during colder months — for new ones more than 100 miles north.

“It’s clear that if you look at the change in birds’ winter ranges,” said Judy Pollock, bird conservation director at Audubon Society Chicago region, “that climate change is having an affect. It just raises a million questions about everything that’s going on in the biological world.”

The study combined two sets of data to arrive at its conclusion that “while causation is nearly impossible to prove, global climate change is the most likely explanation” for the birds’ range shift.

The first data set was 40 years’ worth of figures from Audubon’s annual Christmas Bird Count, a methodical head-count of local bird numbers conducted by hundreds volunteers all over the country.

The results of each volunteer’s findings were aggregated over 40 years to reveal the range shift trend. The numbers revealed the presence of large numbers of bird species in areas they have not been found historically.

“If it was just one group, that might not be accurate,” said Joel Greenberg, author of A Natural History of the Chicago Region. “But if you look at Evanston, Madison and Toronto, you can at least say the findings are worth looking at more closely.”

Not everyone agrees.

Ron Zick, owner of birdfeed store Wild Birds Unlimited in Glenview, said the findings seemed skewed.

“I know I’m politically incorrect on this, but it had an agenda,” Zick said of the study. “It wanted to show climate change affecting birds, so it did.”

Zick said many explanations exist for range shift other than climate change.

Some bird species, he said, might have begun including Chicago in their winter range to avoid the competition they find in warmer locales.

According to Zick, other birds, such the house sparrow, were forced to expand their range westward because their East Coast habitats could no longer support their growing population.

What about the unusual bird sightings? According to Zick, they’re a reflection of the birdwatchers’ ambitions, not range shift.

“Some bird watchers are really competitive,” Zick said. “They finally find these life-list birds and post the sighting online, when the bird is just passing through.”

Dale Humburg, chief biologist for Ducks Unlimited, a waterfowl conservation group, said analyzing this kind of data is never a simple issue.

“The key to understanding the meaning of this study,” Humburg said, “is that natural bird movement from year to year is so variable that it’s going to be pretty difficult to tease that apart from what may be a larger trend.”

Humburg said that in the short term, it’s difficult to discern the impact of climate change on birdlife. However, over decades, the results become clearer.

“I think if this continues,” Humburg said of global warming, “we could very well see a dramatic impact on birds. I see great potential threats under a changing climate.

cardinal at Songbird Prairie Bed and Breakfast

www.songbirdprairie.com 877-766-4273

One of my favorite arrivals is that of the Ruby-throated Hummingbird. Even non-birders talk excitedly about the first hummingbird sighting. In case you didn’t know, there is a really great hummingbird migration map. You can use the map to report a sighting or to follow the migration. Once they approach your area, get out those feeders and make your nectar.

Here is the link for the map: http://www.hummingbirds.net/map.html

coming soon to Songbird Prairie Bed and Breakfast

Make your reservations today!

877-766-4273

Although snowflakes still could fall, it’s time to get ready for the hummingbirds.

An old wives tale states: “When the first red flowers bloom the hummingbird will be returning soon” — usually around the middle of April when red and pink azaleas are first blooming.

In central Ohio and Northwest Indiana two species of hummingbirds visit feeders.

The commonest is the ruby-throated hummingbird. Although both sexes are iridescent green, the male has a black throat patch that reflects bright ruby red in sunlight. The juvenile looks like the plain female. They are about three inches long and weigh only two to three grams.

A rarer sighting in Ohio is the rufous hummingbird. This species is native to the Northwest United States, from California to Alaska. It likely is to show up at a feeder in September or October. The male has an iridescent red throat and non-shiny reddish brown back. His tail is orange with black tips. The female has a white throat with a few red feathers. Her tail is orange, green and black with white tips. The rufous is aggressive at feeders although it is slightly larger than the ruby-throated.

Hummingbirds will return to areas where feeders had been placed the year before. Many of the available feeders are red and will have several ports for feeding. If trees or shrubs are near a feeder, the birds will rest there between feeding. A simple solution of sugar and water can be used to fill the feeder. The formula is one part sugar dissolved in four parts boiling water, boil for 2 minutes and cool. Don’t add red food coloring because it can harm the birds’ organs.

Hummingbirds are enjoyable to watch at the feeder. There is usually the most activity early in the morning and late evening. Increased activity also has been observed before thunderstorms. Hang several feeders near your windows and enjoy the summer treat.

Hummingbird gardens planted to attract the birds also will attract butterflies. A diverse mix of annuals, perennials, vines, shrubs and trees works best. The annuals provide quick color and nectar. The perennials shrubs and trees will bring the birds back year after year. The annuals can include fuchsia, lantana, four-o’clocks and nicotiana. Bee balm, columbine, hollyhocks and cardinal flower are a few of the perennials that will attract the birds. Trumpet vine, butterfly bush, Rose of Sharon and weigela would make attractive additions. Choose plants with bright colors that grow at various heights. A hummingbird needs about 1,000 blooms each day to survive. So the addition of a feeder near the garden will assure a plentiful food source.

Margaret Graft is a Master Gardener volunteer. Barbara from Songbird Prairie is also a Master Gardener!

www.songbirdprairie.com 877-766-4273

Long, sexy tails don’t sap male hummingbirds’ energy reserves

Washington, Mar 13 (ANI): The long tails sported by male birds in the tropics are often considered a distinct disadvantage because they lead to as much as a 50 percent greater energy loss when flying. Now, however, a new study has shown that they exact only a minimal cost in speed or energy. Continue…

www.songbirdprairie.com

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