hummingbirds

Airborne Gems: Ruby-throated Hummingbirds

April 15th may be tax day, but it is also the day, on average, when hummingbirds return to our area, so last weekend I took a break from those trying tax returns to fill my hummingbird feeder, and I was glad I did. The evening of April 14th, a hungry gem-of-a-bird alighted and drank his fill. Last year I met the April 15th deadline, but waited until the 17th before these airborne jewels appeared, and two years ago, on the 16th, I was scolded by a returning bird for not preparing his feeder on schedule.

The male hummingbirds arrive before the females and vigorously defend sources of food, which are usually hummingbird feeders. Under natural conditions, sources of nectar in spring are few and far between, which is why the defense of the resource is so important. Native sources of nectar, such as jewelweed, cardinal flower, and bee-balm, are more common later in summer. If these plants are near your home, you will be treated to a show from the birds as well as the flowers.
On the East Coast, only the ruby-throated hummingbird is common. These birds winter in Central America and make the long migration each spring and fall as they travel between their summer and winter homes. The males have the ruby throat for which they are named, but the females and juveniles have white throats that merge with their white bellies. Rarely, other species of hummingbirds appear here.

The birds often return to the same locations year after year. Two years ago, when I was late with the feeder, a male bird buzzed conspicuously in the exact location where the feeder had hung the previous summer. He even used the same perch as before and chattered loudly when I emerged with the feeder. I am convinced that this was the same bird who left my feeder in September of the previous year.

It is not necessary to add red food coloring to the food. The feeders themselves have enough red to attract the birds, which makes it pointless to add a chemical that the birds don’t need. It is also unnecessary to buy hummingbird food that has added protein and minerals, because the birds normally supplement their diet of nectar with protein-rich, tiny insects. On the other hand, additional protein and minerals probably don’t hurt the birds either. I just use table sugar and water.

I mix a cup of sugar and two cups of hot water and pour the sugary solution into my hummingbird feeder. Most published recipes call for 1 part sugar to 4 parts water, but I prefer the higher proportion of sugar because it is the sugar that provides the nutrition to the birds, not the water. The more concentrated syrup also means that any bird that sneaks past the watchful male to grab a quick mouthful will get more of the energy-rich sugar. It’s also true that April nights in Appalachia may be cold, and I’d rather the birds were full of sugar that they can use to stay warm.

The females arrive from the wintering grounds shortly after the males. With their arrival, the males kick into high gear and begin to court the females. The courtship dance is a spectacular affair. The males fly in a huge arc, like a two-story-high clock pendulum, with the female at the bottom of the swing. As the male passes by the female, he faces her with the feathers of his ruby throat fluffed up, and makes a peculiar whirring buzz. He may swing on this arc a dozen times, until the female moves away from her perch. She is always at the base of that pendulum arc. Sometimes, when the excitement reaches fever pitch, he even buzzes back and forth like an angry bee right in front of her.

It’s time to get out your feeder and make up some sugar solution so that you can attract these tiny birds. You are likely to get them nearly anywhere, from in town to in forest. While you watch them, remember that they traveled all the way to Central America and back, somehow returning to exactly the same tree limb that they left 6 months earlier. Could you complete such a taxing ordeal--even with the appropriate maps?