Each spring they return north in ever increasing numbers; helped in part by the number of hummingbird admirers who set out feeders and plant hummer-friendly flowers. A recent study by the group Partners in Flight estimates the number of Ruby-Throated Hummingbirds to be 20 million and growing, in sharp contrast to other migrating bird species worldwide.
Hummingbirds are found only in the Americas, from the Yukon to Labrador in the far north; Argentina’s and Chile’s shared region of Tierra del Fuego in the south; westward to the Juan Fernández Islands in the Pacific; and to Barbados in the Atlantic. Their habitat includes lowland forests, mangrove swamps, deserts, subarctic meadows, and the snowlines of mountain ranges.
While birdwatchers in the Western United States may spot up to 21 different varieties, here in the East only the Ruby-Throated Hummingbird breeds and resides in spring and summer. Weighing about the same as a nickel, this tiny dynamo returns to our region in early spring, flying over 500 miles nonstop across the Gulf of Mexico to reach us.
It is believed that changes in daylight trigger the desire to head north in spring and south in autumn. Unlike other migrating species who find safety in numbers, hummingbirds travel alone; each species developing its own migration strategy. The Ruby-Throated Hummingbird lives an average of nine years and so may return to the same feeding and breeding grounds year after year, provided a reliable food supply is in the offing.
Unlike many birds that are born with the sounds they will use throughout their lives, hummers are one of four groups of birds who must learn to make sound. Of the 300 hummingbird species known to exist, only three have beautiful songs. The remainder vocalizes by producing guttural sounds, chitters, squeaky whistles, and chirps. The rapid beat of their wings produces the distinctive humming sound that is often the first clue a hummer is visiting your garden.
The males arrive first, exhausted and famished. Should the weather be too cold or severe, hummers enter a state of torpor in order to conserve energy and body heat. Their bodies have the ability to control their level of suspended animation in order to avoid predation. Once the weather warms, they emerge from torpor and seek food. Quickly establishing territorial rights and squabbling with any perceived competition, hummers make up for their small size in pure pugnaciousness.
Females arrive shortly after the males and begin nesting. After completing their nests, the females will choose their mates from a group of suitors, who try to outperform one another in aerial displays. Courtship consists of song or sound, plumage display, and aerial acrobatics. Male hummers require showy plumage to attract a potential mate, while the much drabber female is perfectly suited for camouflage to protect herself and her nest.
Naturalist James Audubon once described them as “glittering fragments of the rainbow.” In a courtship dive, male hummingbirds orient their iridescent green feathers and showy red gorgets (throat feathers) towards the sun in order for them to refract sunlight and therefore look their most vibrant. In fact, hummers have the highest density of feathers of any bird known, and scientists have noted that hummingbirds rarely display on cloudy days, seemingly aware of the necessity of sunlight on their feathers.
Hummingbirds are masters of aerial dynamics, flying with bodies held upright, unlike other birds that fly parallel to the ground. They can propel themselves forward, backwards, right, left, and even upside down. After just three wing strokes, performed in a distinctive figure-eight pattern, they can reach speeds of 25 miles per hour in just 7/1000 of a second. During courtships dives, they may reach speeds of more than 40 miles per hour. After these aerial displays, a chase ensues, ending in mating.
Compared to other birds, hummers have rigid wings, short arms, long wing bones, and short, weak legs. With a remarkably flexible shoulder joint, they can rotate their wings almost 180 degrees, which accounts for their ability to hover while their bodies remain motionless.
Female hummingbirds use their feet and beaks to weave a variety of plant fibers, animal hair, and even manmade fibers into conical or cup-shape nests. Gathering cobwebs and using their own saliva, they glue their nesting materials together. Cobwebs are also used to attach the nests to tree branches, outcroppings, or ledges. The nests are filled with plant fluff and hair, creating a soft base to cradle the eggs. The outsides are then covered with lichen, bark, and moss to create a water-tight insulation. The nests are pliable, allowing them to bulge and flatten as the hatchlings grow.
Each female lays two, jellybean-sized eggs that she then incubates for 15 to 22 days, periodically turning them for even incubation. As with other birds, the hatchlings are born without feathers, and no means to regulate their metabolism, so the female shades them from the cold or heat by spreading a protective wing over them. In 8 to 12 days the chicks can maintain their own body temperatures, and the females begin the task of constant feeding.
Hatchlings enjoy the same diet as their mothers, which consists of insects and nectar, which she consumes and then regurgitates into their gaping mouths. By two weeks old, the chicks are already beginning to preen their downy feathers and stretch their wings in preparation to fledge. With no need for encouragement, one bright, sunny morning the fledglings take their first flights. Almost all are proficient fliers and, after a few test flights, they are off and on their own.
As with most birds, hummers are prey for larger birds, such as hawks, and for snakes, lizards, and domestic cats. Leopard frogs and freshwater bass have been known to pull them underwater, and even large dragonflies, spiders, and praying mantises have been known to prey on them. Hummers remain ever vigilant, relying on their maneuverability and quarrelsome nature to escape capture.
Hummingbirds must consume one-and-a-half times their body weight in nectar each day in order to maintain their metabolic rate. They may eat every ten minutes so that in eight hours they may have consumed up to 48 meals. They can eat, digest, and eliminate food from their bodies in just 15 minutes.
The best source of energy is easily digested sucrose, or sugar, produced by flowers in fields and gardens. Since nectar is a mixture of both sugar and water, hummers rely on nectar to provide half their daily body weight. Approaching a nectar-laden flower, hummers use their long, thin, brush-tipped, split tongues to lap up the sugar-laden liquid, in much the same way dogs drink water from a bowl. They don’t need to perch in order to eat, but hover in place using their wing motion to remain stationary while they feed.
Hummers can see all the colors of the rainbow, as well as ultraviolet colors. Some flowers emit ultraviolet patterns when they are most fertile and therefore richest in nectar. It’s a well-known fact that hummingbirds prefer red flowers, which are easily spotted from above against green foliage. Active at first light, they often feed long before other nectar eaters are up and about.
Hummingbirds also require protein and essential minerals in order to grow new feathers, so they also feed on a variety of insects, spiders, and daddy long legs. They are often seen feeding on small beetles, flies, gnats, mosquitoes, aphids, leafhoppers, parasitic wasps, and mites.
They use their acute vision to find and identify insect prey, which they then snatch out of the air. Darting in and out of vegetation, flitting back and forth in short bursts of speed, hummers can flush and capture the most elusive and smallest of prey. Unable to dismember their prey like other insectivores, hummers prey on insects small enough to swallow whole. When a hummer catches an insect in flight, its swift forward momentum forces the insect far back into its throat, where it is easily swallowed.
Some ornithologists estimate that spiders may comprise 60 to 80 percent of their protein diet. Hummers can be spotted searching along walls and in corners, seeking out cobwebs that may provide fertile hunting grounds for tiny spiders and spider eggs. They can consume hundreds, if not thousands, of insects in a single day, making them a gardener’s friend.
Over the past few decades, hummingbird numbers have increased and thrived due to the addition of feeders placed out during spring. According to hummingbird experts, commercial nectar that you purchase should be free of red dye. For a homemade recipe, the ratio is four parts water to one part sugar. Boil the water to rid it of chlorination, pour it over the sugar, and stir until the sugar is completely dissolved. Once cool, fill your feeder. Do not use brown sugar, honey, or artificial sweeteners!
During cool weather, change your mixture every three to five days. In very hot weather it may be necessary to change it daily. Feeders are best placed in a shady spot to prevent direct sunlight from affecting the sucrose. Wash your feeder thoroughly in hot water between fillings. A bottle brush will remove debris or mold from inside the feeder tube or bottle. Avoid using dishwashing liquid that may contaminate the mixture.
Hummingbirds have fascinated humans in the Americas for centuries. Pre-Columbian artifacts, carvings, and rock drawings depict hummingbirds in their natural environments. A giant, 300-foot long hummingbird drawing stretches across the Peruvian plateau that dates back to more than 500 BC. They have survived for millennia, adapting to changing environments and habitat destruction. They continue to bring beauty and joy to our gardens each year, and so it remains with us to welcome and provide sustenance for them to help ensure their survival.
Flowers with long, tapered blooms are rich in nectar and are preferred by all pollinators, including hummingbirds. Here is a list of favorite flowers you can plant in your garden to attract them:
Columbine
Bleeding heart
Garden phlox
Petunia
Salvia
Agastache
Fuchsia
Trumpet creeper
Coral bells
Hibiscus
Bee balm
Cardinal flower
Butterfly bush
Daylilies