Category Archives: hummingbird

Hummingbirds due to make spring return

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Photo by George from Pixabay • A male ruby-throated hummingbird obtains a dainty perch on a feeder offering sips of sugar water.

On March 4, Nancy Sheehan, a program coordinator for the Journey North website that tracks the migration of hummingbirds, as well as other wild creatures, posted on the project’s website.

“A small number of reports indicate that spring migrating hummingbirds are slowly arriving in southern regions of the United States,” she wrote.

In her post, she also wondered how weather patterns are impacting the pace of migration along the west coast?

That’s an interesting aspect of Journey North. The project tracks migration in both the eastern and western halves of the nation.

Sheehan noted that in the eastern United States, the annual migration of ruby-throated hummingbirds is proceeding pretty much on schedule.

“A small number of reports indicate that spring migrating hummingbirds are slowly arriving in southern regions,” Sheehan wrote. “It is time to put your feeders and potted nectar plants out. These nectar sources provide crucial energy for migrating hummingbirds. Depending on your location, start planting brightly colored native flowers to provide pollinator habitat for hummingbirds and other species such as monarch butterflies. Don’t delay – hummingbirds are here in many locations in the southern U.S.”

It’s fun to monitor hummingbird progress at Journey North, which also tracks the arrival of different hummingbird species in the western United States. There the first arrivals could include Allen’s, Anna’s, Broad-tailed, Black-chinned, Costa’s, Rufous and Allen’s hummingbirds.

I fully expect that ruby-throated hummingbird migration will bring the first individuals to Northeast Tennessee, Southwest Virginia, and Western North Carolina in early April if not late March. It’s even possible there will be some Easter arrival of hummingbirds in the region.

Most first spring observations of hummingbirds are males, although a few females are also early arrivals. Male hummingbirds arrive first so they can find and defend a territory.

As always, spring migration can be a challenging time for hummingbirds. Temperature, wind patterns and storms can influence the pace of migration.

Even once these tiny birds make their epic spring crossing of the Gulf of Mexico, they will need time to rest and refuel before moving northward.

By mid-March, the advance of ruby-throated hummingbirds has usually reached states such as Georgia and South Carolina. By the end of March, these tiny flying gems have reached states such as Tennessee and North Carolina.

It’s time to get those sugar water feeders outside and waiting for the early arrivals. Once the chance of late-season freezes has passed, consider planting some colorful native flowers to provide nectar sources for hummingbirds. In addition, some hanging baskets of flowers can be purchased from garden centers with the benefit that these baskets can be brought indoors during unseasonable cold snaps.

Northeast Tennessee usually gets its first spring hummingbirds the first week of April. If you’re seeing hummingbirds, I’d love to know. I have tracked arrivals for several years now. To share your first spring sighting of a ruby-throated hummingbird, email me at ahoodedwarbler@aol.com or contact me on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/ahoodedwarbler. Please include the date and time of your sighting. I also welcome the sharing of other details about your sightings.

In the meantime, take steps now to welcome hummingbirds back and keep them safe during their stay.

Most experts also suggest avoiding red dyes or food colorings, which are often found in commercially marketed hummingbird sugar water. Don’t risk the health of hummingbirds for a little convenience.

It’s easy to make your own sugar water mix, which can be stored in the refrigerator in an empty plastic juice jug. Boil some water and then add one cup of sugar for every four cups of water in your pot. Stir thoroughly. Bottle the mixture until it cools. Fill your feeders and store any remaining sugar water in the fridge in the aforementioned jug. Refrigerated, the mix should stay good to use for at least a week.

Photo by Bryan Stevens • A male ruby-throated hummingbird surveys his domain.

In our milder spring weather, changing the sugar water in feeders can probably be done on a weekly basis. When hotter summer temperatures prevail, it’s usually necessary to change the sugar water every two or three days.

Some ways of ensuring that our hummingbird guests are kept healthy and secure are simply common sense. For instance, don’t use pesticides, herbicides or any other sort of toxin anywhere close to the vicinity of a sugar water feeder or a flower garden. Hummingbirds are such tiny creatures with such intense metabolisms that it only takes a small amount of any harmful substance to sicken or kill one of these little flying gems.

For emphasis, I’ll repeat again that only common, pure cane sugar is safe for hummingbirds. There are no safe substitutes. Do not use organic, raw or brown sugar. Confectioner’s sugar, which contains an anti-caking substance (often corn starch, silicates or stearate salts), is also hazardous to hummingbirds.

The ratio of four parts water to one part sugar utilizing pure cane sugar most closely duplicates the nectar that hummingbirds obtain from some of their favorite flowers. Why try to mess with nature’s perfection?

I cannot imagine why anyone would supplement sugar water for hummingbirds with such human beverages as a sports drink or Kool-aid, but there have been reports of people doing so. Be aware that such additives will only risk the health of these tiny birds.

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Remember to send me those first sightings of returning spring hummingbirds. I’ll be doing my usual roundup to share who gets graced with a visit from one of these tiny beauties.

What’s in a name? Many American birds will get renamed by AOS

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Photo by Veronika Andrews from Pixabay • Anna’s hummingbird, a species of hummingbird native to the coastal regions of western North America, is named after a 19th-century duchess. The bird, as well as almost 80 other species, will be renamed by the American Ornithological Society in the future.

What’s in a name? To paraphrase the Bard, a bird’s tweet would still sound as sweet, regardless of the name of the bird.

That theory’s about to get tested. The American Ornithological Society has decided to rename about 80 species of birds named for people. The birds, which can be found in the United States and Canada, range from songbirds to shorebirds, as well as woodpeckers and jays.

The best I can determine after some research is that the new names for some of our birds will be based on appearance or habitat preferences. I’d be more optimistic if it wasn’t the AOS that gave us the boring name of Eastern towhee and took away the accurate and descriptive name of rufous-sided towhee for a familiar backyard bird.

The towhee was renamed in 1995. Some of my birding friends have long memories, because I still hear people refer to this bird as “rufous-sided towhee.”

Photo by Bryan Stevens • A male Eastern towhee forages in the grass beneath a feeder.

I’m sure I will miss some of the former names. I’ll be waiting to see what name is given to Anna’s hummingbird, a species named for Anna Masséna, Duchess of Rivoli. As far as I can determine, the duchess had no particular strikes against her character. A French princess, the duchess was married to amateur ornithologist Prince Victor Masséna, the owner of an impressive collection of bird specimens.

Even royalty needs its hobbies, and birding’s certainly a worthy pursuit in my eyes. I do think the trivia associated with birds named for people can make interesting reading. For example, the duchess served as the Mistress of Robes for the Empress Eugénie, wife of Napoleon III.

Be careful what you find when doing online research. I found one article claiming that the duchess met John James Audubon, the famous American naturalist and painter, in Paris in 1882.

If true, it would have been quite the feat as Audubon died in 1857 in New York.

Then there’s Nuttall’s woodpecker. As explained on the website All About Birds, William Gambel named the small black-and-white woodpecker after Thomas Nuttall, an English botanist and ornithologist, back in 1843.

Photo by Bryan Stevens • The Wilson’s snipe is one of many birds likely to be renamed in the near future.

Nuttall was perhaps better known as a botanist, according to All About Birds, but he also published an early field guide on birds titled “A Manual of the Ornithology of the United States and Canada.”

All About Birds also notes that Nuttall’s book and his passion for nature also inspired the formation of the first organization in North America dedicated to birds in 1873, the Nuttall Ornithological Club.

It seems a shame to me to remove the woodpecker’s name when it honors such a relevant figure in the early history of birding.

Even birds — Clark’s nutcracker and Lewis’s woodpecker — named for the famed Meriwether Lewis and William Clark of the historic Lewis and Clark Expedition will likely lose their long-standing names.

Gambel’s quail also faces renaming. This small desert quail is named for William Gambel, an American naturalist, ornithologist and botanist from Philadelphia. As a young man Gambel worked closely with the renowned naturalist Thomas Nuttall, basically becoming an apprentice to the older man.

Photo by AZArtist from Pixabay • Gambel’s quail is named after William Gambel, an American naturalist, ornithologist and botanist from Philadelphia.

At the age of 18, Gambel traveled to California, becoming the first botanist to collect specimens in Santa Fe, New Mexico, as well as many parts of California. In late 1838, Gambel and Nuttall traveled together on a collecting trip to the Carolinas and the southern Appalachians.

Gambel accomplished a lot in his short lifespan. He tried unsuccessfully to establish a medial practice in Philadelphia and decided, like many Americans, to head west. Shortly after reaching California, he tried to help miners afflicted with typhoid at a camp along the Yuba River. He became sick himself and died Dec. 13, 1849, at age 26.

Animals named in the young man’s honor include Gambel’s quail and Gambelia, a genus of lizards. Also in 1848, a genus of flowering plants, Gambelia, native to California and Mexico, was named after him.

I feel that Shakespeare had it right. The names may change, but the stories of the birds and their namesakes will still be there for anyone who wants to do a little digging.

Some of the stories you might uncover make for interesting reading.

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Email Bryan Stevens at ahoodedwarbler@aol.com to share a bird sighting, ask a question or make a comment.

Readers share their hummingbird sightings from as far as Texas, Washington, New Mexico

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Photo by Janet Woodward • This male ruby-throated hummingbird arrived at the home of Janet Woodward on April 3. She resides near the Pamlico River in Bath, North Carolina.

My yearly roundup of the first hummingbird sightings of spring has been a doozy so far. I’ve heard from readers in the states of Washington, New Mexico, Texas, Arkansas and Alabama. Closer to home, I’ve also gotten reports from readers in the Carolinas, Georgia and Tennessee. I’ll continue the round-up next week and will keep fingers crossed that perhaps I will have spotted my own first spring hummingbird at my home in Hampton, Tennessee, by then.
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Mike Haynes saw his first hummingbird in early March, but he lives a tad outside the region in Odessa, Texas.
“A note to let you know we get hummingbirds here in west Texas around March 5 each year,” he wrote in an email.
Mike is apparently not getting visits from male hummingbirds with their bright red throats.
“They all are unattractive gray birds,” he noted. “We get zero pretty birds.”
Regardless, he makes the best of it and pays close attention to their actions.
“They nest high in the trees,” he wrote. “They are here all summer.”
He also noted that the hummingbirds are “very hostile little guys” and noted that in In the hot (108 degrees) days, they drink a lot. “
“All of these guys are very skittish and fly off even if you open a door,” he said. But it’s all we have.”
Mike shared that he grows tons of bright and colorful flowers and plants to attract hummingbirds.
“We bring our feeders in on Nov. 1 each year,” he wrote.
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Patsy Stewart emailed me to report that she saw ruby-throated hummingbirds on March 30 and April 2. The visits took place early in the morning and late in the evening at Patsy’s home in Rossville, Tennessee.
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Wanda Dugan shared that she saw a male ruby-throated hummingbird on March 31 at her home in western North Carolina.
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“I saw my first hummingbird April 1,” Judy Steele wrote in an email. “Possibly he had been here before I spotted him. I have had a feeder out for a couple of weeks and change it every five to six days and notice less feed when I go out to exchange my feeder. “
All doubts were erased on Saturday, April 1, when she saw a visiting male hummingbird. “He stayed at the feeder for half a minute or so,” she added.
Judy noted that she lives in Loudon, Tennessee, close to Watts Bar Lake.
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“Saw the first hummingbird in Gainesboro, Tennessee, today (April 2),” Glenda Stafford wrote in an email. She helpfully noted that Gainesboro is located 100 miles between Nashville and Knoxville.
“We just got our first hummingbird yesterday,” Donna Snyder wrote to me by email. on April 3. “I’ve had our feeders out for two weeks, and I’m so excited to finally have one arrive.” She noted that her family resides in Kings Mountain, North Carolina, in the western part of the state.
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“I saw my first hummingbird April, 2 in Albany, Georgia,” wrote Rena Parker in an email to me.
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Debra Roy reported her first sighting of a male ruby-throated hummer on April 3 at her home in Richmond Hill, Georgia.
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“Saw our first this afternoon (April 3) at 5:57 p.m. central time in Clarksville, Arkansas,” wrote Dr. Buckley T. Foster in an email about his first spring hummingbird sighting.
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Reader Janie Balzano lives in New Mexico, so her first spring sighting was not of the ruby-throated hummingbird prevalent in the eastern United States.
“First sighting on Monday (April 3),” Janie wrote. “The feeders were put out three days prior.”
Janie resides at Seven Rivers, New Mexico, halfway between Carlsbad and Artesia.
“We are seeing three males,” she noted.
She shared that two of the tiny visitors are Anna’s hummingbirds and the third is a rufous hummingbird.
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Elaine Hallgarth, also of New Mexico, shared that she saw two black-chinned hummingbirds on April 3 at her feeders. An earlier sighting by a non-birder on March 31 was also likely a black-chinned hummingbird. Elaine resides in San Lorenzo, New Mexico.
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“The juice is out,” reported Mark Praschak in North Carolina.
“I’ve had my feeder out in New Bern, North Carolina, for a week now,” he wrote on April 3. “No arrivals yet. Their nest from last year is still pretty exposed. Giving it another week or so before the leaves can hide it better. Will advise.”
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Fred Rauh of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, emailed me to let me know that he saw his first spring hummingbird on March 25 at 3 p.m.••••
Frank Alegria emailed me that he saw his first spring hummingbird on March 30 at his home in Pottsboro, Texas.
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Rufus Milam in Jacksonville, North Carolina, wrote that he put his feeder out last week and saw one hummingbird on Thursday, March 30. On April 3, he also had a visitor at his feeder on and off since about 9 a.m.
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Eleanor Donahue wrote to me to share her first spring sighting.
“Male ruby-throated hummer feeding at our lake home on High Rock Lake, Lexington North Carolina, on April 2 around 3 p.m.,” she noted.
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Cody Songs in Foley, Alabama, shared his hummingbird sightings. On April 3, he saw one male.The following day, two males showed up at his feeder.
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Richard in Williston, South Carolina, reported that he saw his first spring hummingbird, a male, on March 31.
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Lynette Feldbush takes the honors for earliest sighting. She saw a hummingbird back on Feb 28. “I had this one for only two days,” she noted.
Lynette, who lives at Moses Lake, Washington, said she felt saddened when the brief visit ended. Now she is waiting for another hummingbird to arrive. As Lynette lives along the West Coast, her visitor is probably one of about a half dozen different species, including rufous hummingbird, black-chinned hummingbird and broad-tailed hummingbird. In Washington, the Anna’s hummingbird is a year-round resident.
She did share a viideo of her tiny visitor.

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Carl Davenport of Calera, Alabama, wrote me on April 5 to inform me that he has had three hummingbirds regularly visiting his feeders since March 30.
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Janet Woodward also wrote to share news of the first hummingbird’s arrival.
“I love my hummers and can’t wait for them each year,” she wrote. “Last year I was blessed to see then first on my birthday, March 23, but this year my first sighting was April 3.”
Janet shared that she resides near the Pamlico River in Bath, North Carolina.
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Anar Mirkar in Raleigh, North Carolina, shared the news of a first spring hummingbird sighting, which took place on April 4.
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Chris Holroyd in Bridgeport, Texas, has seen hummingbird numbers rising since their arrival. “First noticed March 30,” Chris wrote to me on April 4. “Now we have five!
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Ellen Decker has had hummingbirds at her feeder since March 23 when they arrived at about 10 a.m. “I am in Longs, South Carolina,” she added. “I see them every day now.”
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Cathy Miller in Brevard, North Carolina, got a visit from her first spring hummingbird at 4:45 p.m. on April 5. “It makes me so happy when I see one,” she shared.
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“After reading your article about hummers, we put our feeder out and just spotted our first visitor on April 12,” wrote Rick Newell of Jonesborough, Tennessee,
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Lydia Davidson reported her first hummingbird at 9 a.m. on April 7 at her home in the Sulphur Springs area of Washington County, Tennessee. “This was a week earlier than 2022,” she noted.
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Mary Ellen Higinbotham shared that her first hummingbird arrived at 4:50 p.m. on April 10 at her home on Little Dry Run between Butler and Mountain City, Tennessee.
“I was ready and waiting, thanks to your promptings,” she added.
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Photo by Bryan Stevens • A ruby-throated hummingbird visits a feeder for a sip of sugar water.

“Saw our first hummingbird, a male, today (April 13),” Peggy Rogers of Trade, Tennessee, shared. “Just put the feeder out yesterday.
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Gail Rogers from Enterprise, Alabama, sent me an email on April 10 about her first hummingbird sighting of spring. She also shared a video of the bird, which happened to be a female ruby-throated hummingbird.

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/vTMduRxYrUI

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The Mayfields of Forest Falls, California, wrote about their first hummingbird sighting. The Mayfields live at an elevation of 4,800 feet. “Saw our first hummingbird on Easter (April 9) at 2:30 p.m. How exciting. I filled our feeder immediately.”
Being in California, the Mayfields would have seen a different species than the ruby-throated hummingbird, but they did not specify.
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Carolyn Keifer of Roswell, Georgia, saw her first hummingbird on April 5.
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Linda Vollmoeller in Pittsboro, North Carolina, shared that her first visit from a hummingbird took place April 6. “I’ve put the first of several feeders out,” she wrote. “So excited!”
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Linda Dousharm, who lives in South River, North Carolina, saw her first hummingbird on March 28.
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Theresa Nelson saw her first hummingbird (a male) in Charlotte, Tennessee, on April 3. She also shared a movie of her tiny visitor.
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Denis Young of Morristown, Tennessee, saw the first spring hummer on April 6, the same arrival date that Denis recorded last year. Denis also reported hosting between 30 and 40 hummingbirds each year.
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Linda Gomez of Toano, Virginia, reported two male ruby-throated hummingbirds feeding at her feeder on April 6 at 6 p.m.
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“After reading your column in the Herald & Tribune, we put out our feeder on March 30,” wrote Dan M. Johnson of White Oak Court, Johnson City. “I just saw the first hummingbird this morning (April 8).”
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Jill LeVin of Loudon, Tennessee, spotted her first hummingbird on April 8.
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Dorothy Lane saw a ruby-throated hummingbird on April 4 in Lufkin in East Texas.
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J. saw a male ruby-throated hummingbird in Knoxville, Tennessee, on April 8.
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Shellye Stone of Decatur Texas, saw a single hummingbird on April 5 and saw two hummingbirds the following day.

Photo by TheSOARnet / Pixabay.com • Male ruby-throated hummingbirds usually migrate ahead of females. These tiny birds must cross the Gulf of Mexico, without stopping, to reach their nesting grounds in the eastern United States. The journey across the Gulf can take them 18 to 22 hours, dependent on weather conditions.

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Sharon Underwood of Woodlands, Texas, saw her first hummer feeding on the patio at her home on March 31.
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Donald Frazell reported three families of hummingbirds battling on April 9 from his balcony eight miles from downtown Los Angeles.
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Paul Isgett of Florence, South Carolina, saw his first spring hummingbirds on April 7.
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Steve Ritter shared that his first hummingbird arrived April 9 at his home in Scottsboro, Alabama.
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Emil Kunze reported a male ruby-throated hummingbird at mid-day April 9 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
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Cherie Ramsey hadn’t yet seen a hummingbird, but she shared a nice note. “Thank you for the information on hummingbirds,” she wrote. “This year is the first time I’m putting out a feeder for them. I can’t wait to see them feed.”
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Jane Weems reported that she had her first ruby-throated hummingbird on April 6 in Hayden, Alabama. “Beautiful!” Jane wrote.
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Ernest Ragan reported his first hummingbird in Ruidoso, New Mexico, on April 8.
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Val Bennett noticed a first-of-spring hummingbird at the feeder on April 3. Val lives in Walling, Tennessee.
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Cindy Pye saw her first hummingbird on the morning of April 9 at her home in Hephzibah, Georgia.
“So excited,” Cindy wrote. “Waiting for the others.”
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Della shared that she saw a male ruby-throated hummingbird on April 6 in Harriman, Tennessee.
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Diana Fischer, no address provided, noted that a male ruby-throated hummingbird visited her feeders at 10 a.m. on Easter (April 9).
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Nancy Monk has had hummingbirds for awhile at her home in Las Vegas, Nevada. “We have nests with babies,” she wrote. “Babies are two weeks old. Anxiously awaiting flight training to start.”
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Ginger Brackins in Erwin, Tennessee, sent me an email about her first sighting. “I just wanted to let you know that I saw my first hummingbird April 11 on Valley Avenue.”
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“Spotted male at the feeder on April 5 after a rain,” wrote Patty Everding. The bird returned for the next two days after its arrival, she noted. Patty lives in Central Virginia in Appomattox County.
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Lisa Freiss shared that her first hummingbird, a small male, arrived April 7. Lisa lives on William Hawkins Lane, off of Pleasant Valley Road in Mountain City, Tennessee. She also posted her sighting on Facebook. “Then I saw two at the feeder a couple days later,” she added. “Only see them early morning or dusk.”
Of course, the birds were not about to share the feeder. Lisa noted that they chased each other away.
This is the second year her hummers have returned on April 7. She also noted she puts out her feeder on April 5.
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Dale Reynolds, who lives just outside Mountain City, Tennessee, saw male ruby-throated hummingbirds on April 11-12.
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Alicia R. in Tucker, Georgia, had a visit from a male hummingbird at her two feeders on April 8.
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Phillip Jones in Savannah, Georgia, reported in an email on April 8 three sightings of a ruby-throated hummingbird feeding at his feeders during the week.
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“I live in the mountains of Western North Carolina, in Canton,” wrote Debby James. “I have had my feeder up for about two weeks.” She saw her first hummingbird on April 7.
Her tiny red-throated visitor arrived on a cold morning with the temperature at 41 degrees. “I enjoy watching these little birds,” she added. “They are amazing.”
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Sissy in Eddyville, Kentucky, shared a photo of her first hummingbird of spring in an email sent on April 8.

A photo of Sissy’s hummingbird.

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Karen O’Cain wrote that she saw her first hummingbird on April 6 in Nebo, North Carolina, near Marion, North Carolina, in the foothills.
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Rebecca Chester saw her first hummingbird on April 6. “I am in Bethesda, Tennessee. I saw your article and you said to let you know when we saw our first hummingbird,” she added.
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Mark Bronder reported that ruby-throated hummingbirds arrived at his feeders April 6 at his Asheville, North Carolina, residence at Mills Gap and Pinner’s Cove Road.
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The Rogers family of Marshall, North Carolina, reported that the first hummingbird arrived April 6.
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Shelia Boyd saw her first hummingbird on April 6 in Northern Mcdowell County, North Carolina. “It was a male ruby-throated,” she added. “I have yet to spot a female.”
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Starr Yeager wrote on April 12 that she has seen two hummers in Clarktown in Carter County, Tennessee.
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The response has been so incredible I will continue sharing sightings in next week’s column. Keep sharing those stories of first arrivals by emailing me at ahoodedwarbler@aol.com.

Photo by Bryan Stevens • Keep hummingbirds happy with a sugar water solution of four parts water to one part sugar.

 

Eastern kingbird, hummingbirds part of spring migration bonanza

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Photo by Bryan Stevens • An Eastern kingbird perches atop a metal fence post.

Migration continues and offers up a few surprises. Such was the case of the morning of April 20 when I spotted an Eastern kingbird near the fish pond.

This is a rare bird at my home, but one that is easily found in other locations in the area. My recollection is this is only the second time an Eastern Kingbird has visited my home.

I didn’t have time to observe the bird for long and I didn’t find the bird when I returned home later that evening, but it was a timely reminder that spring migration can bring plenty of unexpected birdwatching delights.

Many readers continue to be delighted by the return of ruby-throated hummingbirds. Based on the sightings shared with me this past week, I think the pace of migration has definitely spiked for this tiny bird.

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Gwen Straub, who lives in Nebo, North Carolina, near Lake James, sent me an email to share that she had a “double” arrival with a male and female hummingbird showing up at her feeder at 10 am on April 12.

“The male has been back every day since then,” she wrote.  “Today he drank for five full minutes with his beak in the hole many times for seven to eight seconds.”

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April Kerns Fain posted a Facebook comment on my page to notify me that she saw her first hummingbird on April 12. A few days later, she also shared a photo of a beautiful male rose-breasted grosbeak that arrived at her feeders on April 19. Her sightings are a good reminder that it’s not just hummingbirds on the move. Many colorful birds are returning this month.

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Tammy Jones Adcock, Erwin, shared via a Facebook comment that she saw her first hummingbird of spring on April 13.

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Jeanne Siler Lilly shared on Facebook that she saw her first spring hummingbird on April 15.

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Daniel Washinski from Houston, Delaware, also had a Good Friday sighting. “First hummingbird this morning (April 15) in Delaware!” Daniel shared on my Facebook page.

I found it interesting that some hummingbirds have already reached Delaware before I’ve seen one at my home. Just goes to show that these tiny guys are in a hurry to get to their final destinations for the summer season.

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Lois Bridges of Unicoi shared via a Facebook comment that she saw her first spring hummingbird on April 16.

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Helen Whited of Richlands, Virginia, shared her first spring hummingbird sighting in an email.

“Just had our first hummingbird!” Helen wrote. The bird arrived at 10:58 a.m. on April 16.

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Priscilla Gutierrez shared with a Facebook comment that she saw her first hummingbird on April 16 on Carver Road in Roan Mountain.

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Angie Fletcher, a high school friend of mine, shared on Facebook that she saw her first hummingbird on April 16.

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Cheri Miller shared on the Tri-Cities Young Naturalists Facebook page that she saw her first hummingbird of the season on April 17 at her home in Hampton.

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Starr Yeager, a resident of Tiger Creek in Hampton, saw five hummingbirds at her feeders on April 18. Starr’s another friend of mine from high school who notified me of the sighting on Facebook.

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Lowell Christian, Jonesborough, shared on Facebook that he officially saw his first spring hummingbird at 8:25 a.m. on April 20. “I am quite sure I have missed it being here before,” he noted.

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Russ MacIntyre, a resident of the Embreeville section of Jonesborough, sent me an email to let me know he saw his first spring hummingbird at 5:35 p.m. on April 20.

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Frances Lamberts in Jonesborough got her first sightings on April 24 between about 6:30 and 7:30 p.m. while sitting on the patio eating supper.

In her email, Frances said the hummingbird visited three times.

“During one of the  visits, I counted its sips on the feeder — 42.”

Frances noted that she has a few flowers — columbine, bleeding heart and larkspur — in bloom in her garden.

Frances is dedicated to the cause of preserving pollinators, including hummingbirds as well as butterflies and other insects.

She also writes a column titled “Conservation in Mind” twice a month for The Erwin Record.

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Keeping these tiny guests happy isn’t difficult. It’s easy to make your own sugar water mix, which can be stored in the refrigerator in a plastic juice jug. Boil some water and then add one cup of sugar for every four cups of water in your pot. Stir thoroughly. Bottle the mixture until it cools. Fill your feeders and store any remaining sugar water in the fridge in the aforementioned jug. Refrigerated, the mix should stay good to use for at least a week.

Kingbird tyranny

Here’s some more information on the Eastern kingbird that I observed. Kingbirds are a part of an extensive family of birds known as flycatchers that are exclusively found in the New World. Other flycatchers that are relatively common in the region include Eastern phoebe and Eastern wood-pewee.

The Eastern kingbird  is easy to recognize and identify. The bird’s plumage is a study in contrast, being black above and white below. In addition, there’s a noticeable white edge to the tip of the bird’s otherwise all-black tail.

There is a red patch of feathers on top of the bird’s head, which gives this pint-sized tyrant a “crown,” but most birders would tell you that this colorful patch is rarely seen and is instead kept concealed at most times.

The scientific name of the Eastern kingbird is Tyrannus tyrannus, a good clue to the bird’s militant nature.

Photo by Bryan Stevens • An Eastern kingbird perches on a fence.

These birds, which are about the size of an American robin, are famous for displaying aggressive behavior against much larger birds such as crows and hawks.

While some birds are all bluff, the Eastern kingbird often follows through with its attacks. According to the website All About Birds, kingbirds have been known to known blue jays right out of a tree.

I’ve observed kingbirds tormenting such large birds as red-tailed hawks and turkey vultures. I once watched a kingbird get so close to a red-tailed hawk that it almost looked like the smaller bird was hitching a ride on the hawk’s back. I suspect the hawk even lost a feather or two in the encounter.

Other North American kingbirds include Western kingbird, tropical kingbird, Couch’s kingbird, Cassin’s kingbird and the thick-billed kingbird. On a trip to Salt Lake City in Utah many years back I got the chance to see the Western kingbird, the counterpart to the Eastern kingbird in that part of the country.

Look for the Eastern kingbird in open terrain that offers plenty of perches. These birds spend most of their time chasing and catching flying insects, which provide the bulk of the bird’s food during the summer months.

•••

Have a sighting to share, a comment to make or a question to ask? Email me at ahoodedwarbler@aol.com.

Photo by Pixabay
The Eastern kingbird is a pugnacious member of the widespread family of New World birds known as the flycatchers. Other members of the family in the region include the Eastern phoebe and the Eastern wood-pewee.

Ruby-throated hummingbirds are returning. Are you ready?

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Photo by Katy Jefferson • A male ruby-throated hummingbird visits a sugar water feeder for a quick refuel.

The website Journey North noted on March 15 that ruby-throated hummingbird migration was off to a slow start for spring 2022.  According to the website, Journey North volunteers along the Gulf Coast and in the Southeast are noting new arrivals, but the total number of reports is lower than at this same time last year.

On a posting made on March 22, Journey North indicated that the pace had quickened. After a slow start, according to the website, ruby-throated hummingbird migration is picking up in the Southeastern United States.

According to the website, most first spring observations of hummingbirds are males, although a few females are being spotted. Male hummingbirds, the posting noted, arrive first so they can find and defend a territory.

The first migration reports of ruby-throated hummingbirds began as a trickle in early March from along the Gulf Coast. Observers in states such as Texas and Louisiana reported ruby-throated hummingbirds as early as March 1.

The website made note that spring migration is a challenging time for hummingbirds. Temperature, wind patterns and storms can influence the pace of migration.

Even once these tiny birds make their epic spring crossing of the Gulf of Mexico, they will need time to rest and refuel before moving northward. By mid-March, the advance of ruby-throated hummingbirds had reached states such as Georgia and South Carolina. By the end of March, the first reports began to arrive at Journey North from Tennessee and North Carolina. (There’s already been a local sighting, but that will come with next week’s column.)

Now that the ruby-throated hummingbirds have officially returned to the Volunteer State and its neighbors, it’s time to put out those sugar water feeders. Consider planting some colorful native flowers to provide nectar sources for hummingbirds.

Northeast Tennessee usually gets its first spring hummingbirds the first week of April. If you’re seeing hummingbirds, I’d love to know. I have tracked arrivals for several years now. To share your first spring sighting of a ruby-throated hummingbird, email me at ahoodedwarbler@aol.com or contact me on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ahoodedwarbler. Please include the date and time of your sighting.

In the meantime, take steps now to welcome hummingbirds back and keep them safe during their stay.

Some ways of ensuring that our hummingbird guests are kept healthy and secure are simply common sense. For instance, don’t use pesticides, herbicides or any other sort of toxin anywhere close to the vicinity of a sugar water feeder or a flower garden. Hummingbirds are such tiny creatures with such intense metabolisms that it only takes a small amount of any harmful substance to sicken or kill one of these little flying gems.

Photo by Bryan Stevens • Numbers of Ruby-throated Hummingbird in the region tend to fluctuate each year, but they usually begin returning each spring in early April in Northeast Tennessee and the surrounding region.

Feeding hummingbirds is easy, but many people try to complicate the process. Only common, pure cane sugar, mixed to a ratio of four parts water to one part sugar, is a safe choice for these birds.

For emphasis, I’ll repeat again that only common, pure cane sugar is safe for hummingbirds. There are no safe substitutes. Do not use organic, raw or brown sugar. Confectioner’s sugar, which contains an anti-caking substance (often corn starch, silicates or stearate salts), is also hazardous to hummingbirds.

There’s also a type of sugar known as turbinado sugar, which is named for the process of spinning the sugar in turbines to crystallize it. The crystals are rich in vitamins and minerals valuable for human health, but they are lethal for hummingbirds. Iron is one of the minerals contained in turbinado sugar. Hummingbird metabolism has a low tolerance for iron, which is present in the molasses added to brown sugar and in agave nectar. These are natural substances, but that doesn’t make them safe for hummingbirds.

The ratio of four parts water to one part sugar utilizing pure cane sugar most closely duplicates the nectar that hummingbirds obtain from some of their favorite flowers. Why try to mess with nature’s perfection?

I cannot imagine why anyone would supplement sugar water for hummingbirds with such human beverages as a sports drink or Kool-aid, but there have been reports of people doing so. Be aware that such additives will only risk the health of these tiny birds.

Most experts also suggest avoiding red dyes, which are often found in commercially marketed hummingbird sugar water. Don’t risk the health of hummingbirds for a little convenience.

It’s easy to make your own sugar water mix, which can be stored in the refrigerator in an empty plastic juice jug. Boil some water and then add one cup of sugar for every four cups of water in your pot. Stir thoroughly. Bottle the mixture until it cools. Fill your feeders and store any remaining sugar water in the fridge in the aforementioned jug. Refrigerated, the mix should stay good to use for at least a week.

In our milder spring weather, changing the sugar water in feeders can probably be done on a weekly basis. When hotter summer temperatures prevail, it’s usually necessary to change the sugar water every two or three days.

Readers in Georgia, Tennessee, Rhode Island are hosting winter hummingbirds

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Photo Courtesy of Eli Mulligan • A rufous hummingbird, named Little Green by her human landlord, poses for a snapshot. Rufous hummingbirds routinely migrate through the eastern United States during fall and early winter. Some may spend the entire winter season. 

I recently heard from readers from as far afield as Atlanta, Georgia, and Greene, Rhode Island. They were writing to share stories about over-wintering hummingbirds at their respective homes. But the first report I received this year came from a much closer source.

Darlene Kerns, a Unicoi resident, contacted me on Facebook two days before Christmas.

“We live in Unicoi and I just had to share with you,” Darlene wrote. “We had a hummingbird feeding this morning. It’s 22 degrees!”

She went on to tell me that there have actually been two winter hummingbirds at her feeders.

“We usually bring the feeders in by mid-October but kept one out with fresh food because of continually seeing hummingbirds feeding,” she said.

That’s often how it starts. It’s easy to miss these different hummingbird species when they mingle with the abundant fall ruby-throated hummingbirds, but they tend to stand out once the last of the ruby-throated hummingbirds depart.

“I’m just amazed that these sweet little birds are still around in this cold weather,” Darlene wrote in her message.

Almost every year since beginning to write this column, I have been contacted by others who, much like Darlene, are stunned to glimpse a hummingbird at their home in the winter months. I’ve penned several articles about the phenomenon of wintering hummingbirds. As we are now mid-way through the 2021-2022 winter season, I wasn’t too surprised to receive more confirmation that these tiny birds continue to surprise us.

I replied to Darlene’s Facebook message by asking her if the hummingbird at her home had an abundance of brown feathers in its plumage. I also suggested she use Google to research “rufous hummingbird.”

She did as I suggested and discovered the identity of her visitors.

“Yes! It is the rufous hummingbird,” Darlene confirmed after looking at photos online.

Through the years, I have seen several of these seemingly out-of-place hummingbirds. I’ve received reports from such far-flung locales as Ohio and New York. Some of them remain at their host’s feeders for a brief stay of a few days or a couple of weeks, but some of these hummingbirds have extended their stay for several months, lingering throughout the winter months before eventually departing in February or March. I’ve even hosted rufous hummingbirds twice at my own home.

The big question concerns whether these hummingbirds are truly lost and out of place. The answer, based on everything I have managed to learn, is that these hummingbirds are precisely where they want to be. For still unknown reasons, some of these western hummingbirds make a migration swing through the eastern United States. The vast majority turn out to be a species known as the rufous hummingbird.

I’ll now turn the spotlight onto the individual stories of Eli Mulligan and Pam Price.

Eli Mulligan emailed me about a rufous hummingbird that recently departed from his home in New England.

“I am not sure if you are still following the wintering rufous hummingbirds,” Eli wrote in his email. “If so, I have an interesting story for you.”

He went on to mention that he is a resident of Greene, Rhode Island.

“This year, we had a confirmed rufous hummingbird show up in mid-September, mingling with the remaining rubies (ruby-throated hummingbirds),” he wrote.  “Well, this little rufous decided to stay for some time.  She literally just left us a day ago on the morning of Jan. 18, 2022.  During her stay, she had endured heavy rains, high winds, snow and even routine blustery cold nights with temperatures falling as low as 1 degree and wind chills of minus 15 degrees.”

Eli described his visitor’s routine.

“While she was here, I would get up before the sun, every morning and put out fresh nectar for her,” he wrote. “When we hit the colder days, I invested in a plug-in heated feeder and a mushroom-shaped heat lamp that I would hang the feeders underneath.This definitely helped her on many December and January mornings as she camped right underneath to warm herself.”

Eli said he caught numerous glimpses of her feed from nearby suet cakes most likely to supplement her protein needs during the colder days,” he wrote.

“What an incredibly resilient bird,” Eli wrote. “We ended up naming her ‘Little Greene.’”

Eli said that his recently departed rufous hummingbird was absolutely one of the most remarkable birds that he has ever seen or known.

“She will definitely be missed,” he concluded.

Eli created postings throughout Little Greene’s visit on eBird regarding his observations and general information about her while she remained at his home.”

Readers can look up the name Eli Mulligan on eBird and views postings and photos of Little Greene.

“This is truly an amazing creature and I just wanted to share that with those who would have an appreciation for her,” Eli wrote.

Photo Courtesy of Pam Price • This rufous hummingbird has been spending time at a home near Atlanta, Georgia.

Pam Price in Atlanta, Georgia, found out how to contact me when a column I’d previously written on rufous hummingbirds popped into her news feed.

She wrote in her email that she has had a little rufous hummingbird visiting her feeder since Dec. 14.

As of the Jan. 23, the hummingbird was still present.

“I worry about it constantly as I wonder where it is getting any bugs,” she said.  “Temperatures have been in the 20s.”

She even took steps to ensure the bird’s safety when she went on vacation.

“I took a feeder to my neighbor next door and made her promise to keep up the feeder and bring in at night so it does not freeze,” Pam wrote.

Her recent visitor is not Pam’s first experience with rufous hummingbirds.

She noted that she had two rufous hummingbirds banded in her backyard when she lived in the Tallahassee, Florida, area.

“So I am familiar with that process,” she wrote. “I did post on Ebird alerts with pictures but have not tried to find someone to band her as she does not visit as frequently as other hummers.”

For those who do worry about rufous hummigbirds braving cold winter temperatures, keep in mind that the species spends the nesting season from Baja California to chilly Alaska in its native range. Hummingbirds can also enter torpor, an adaptation that lets them slow down their metabolism when conditions are too exacting.

I enjoyed hearing from Eli, Pam and Darlene.  Winter hummingbirds, while always a delightful surprise for their hosts, no longer shock long-time birders. We’ve grown to expect them. If anything, I’d be surprised more by the absence of reports of these tiny wonders during the bleak winter season. If any readers are still hosting lingering hummingbirds at their feeders, I’d love to hear their stories. Email me at ahoodedwarbler@aol.com.

Hummingbird numbers normally fluctuate from year to year

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Photo by Bryan Stevens • A ruby-throated hummingbird perches at a feeder for a sip of sugar water.

Russ MacIntyre, Jonesborough, Tennessee, emailed me recently with a question about hummingbirds.

“Are there fewer around this year?” Russ wrote in his email. “My neighbor hasn’t seen any for a month and neither have we. Both of us have feeders and usually have hummingbirds all summer.”

I responded to Russ’s question by sharing with him that I have not seen as many hummingbirds as usual myself.

It’s important to note, however, that hummingbird numbers always fluctuate from year to year. While Russ and I may not be seeing as many hummingbirds, someone else in Jonesborough, Erwin or other small towns might be overwhelmed with these tiny gems. For instance, numbers might appear down in Northeast Tennessee but could be booming across the border in Western North Carolina.

I get these questions every year. Last year was a great year for hummingbirds based on my personal experience. I was also staying at home a lot more last year due to COVID-19, so I might simply have had more leisure time to observe the hummingbirds in my yard and garden.

Photo by Bryan Stevens • Despite a perceived disadvantage of size, ruby-throated hummingbirds are quite capable of thriving in a giant world.

I usually tell people a decline in numbers one year doesn’t mean hummingbird numbers might not boom next year. Quite simply, all the hummingbirds could be a few miles down the road having a great time in someone else’s yard and garden. One thing that all hummingbird enthusiasts should do is plant more nectar-providing flowers, in addition to providing sugar water feeders. Flowers can help persuade hummers to stay put.

To recognize the importance of native, nectar-bearing flowers, simply consider a few facts about hummingbirds from an article by Lisa M. Genier for the Adirondack Council.

“Hummingbirds have a very high metabolism and must eat all day long just to survive,” wrote Genier, a program analyst for the Adirondack Council. “They consume about half their body weight in bugs and nectar, feeding every 10 to 15 minutes and visiting 1,000 to 2,000 flowers throughout the day.”

It’s not just the sugary treat that waits in each bloom that draws in hummingbirds.

“In addition to nectar from flowers and feeders, these birds eat small insects, beetles, ants, aphids, gnats, mosquitoes and wasps,” Genier wrote in her article, which was published on July 3, 2018, on the website for the Adirondack Council. The organization was founded in 1975 with a mission to ensure the ecological integrity and wild character of the Adirondack Park near Lake Placid in New York.

Photo by Bryan Stevens • Ruby-throated hummingbirds such as this male make themselves at home in yards and gardens throughout the eastern United States from spring to fall each year. .

If you’re disappointed with seemingly low numbers of hummingbirds this spring, my best advice is to wait until late July and early August when young birds are out of the nest and parents and young start the slow-paced migration back south. Invariably, I see more hummingbirds in late summer and early fall than in the spring.

Hummingbirds are a lovely diversion for nature enthusiasts, but they also play a crucial role in the ecosystems where they make their homes. Hummingbirds are pollinators. Every time they visit a flower, they will carry away some pollen on their bills or foreheads. If they carry the pollen to the correct plant, they fulfill their role as one of nature’s many pollinators.

There’s even an entire week dedicated to pollinators and their importance in nature. Pollinator Week was initiated in 2007 when the United States Senate unanimously approved a week in June to be designated as “National Pollinator Week”. This decision was a critical step to address the decline in pollinators across the globe.

Now an international celebration, Pollinator Week raises awareness on the plight of pollinators and celebrates all of the benefits provided by the thousands of insect, bird, and small mammal pollinator species. As people learn more about pollinators, they become advocates – indeed voices – for the pollinators they come to love and understand. We can all play our part to secure a healthier, more sustainable future for pollinators. Pollinator week was started and is managed by the Pollinator Partnership. For more information explore the Pollinator Partnership website.

According to the website, Pollinator Week was initiated and is managed by Pollinator Partnership, and fourteen years ago the U.S. Senate’s unanimous approval and designation of a week in June as “National Pollinator Week” marked a necessary step toward addressing the urgent issue of declining pollinator populations. Pollinator Week has now grown into an international celebration, promoting the valuable ecosystem services provided by bees, birds, butterflies, bats and beetles.

While this year might not be a typical Pollinator Week due to the COVID-19 pandemic, people across the planet have pledged to continue promoting pollinator health and well-being through socially distant and responsible events. Through the numerous virtual gatherings, webinars, responsible planting sessions, socially distant garden and farm walks and monument lightings, Pollinator Week 2021 is geared to be the busiest and best one yet.

This year, Pollinator Week is being observed Monday-Sunday, June 21–27. For more information, email info@pollinator.org.

Photo by Bryan Stevens
A Monarch sips nectar from blooming Ironweed. Butterflies are important pollinators for many plants.

Rufous hummingbirds appear after other hummers depart for the winter

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Photo by Bryan Stevens • A young rufous hummingbird approaches a feeder for a sip of sugar water. These hummingbirds, which are native to the western United States and Canada, have become regular visitors throughout the eastern United States in late fall and early winter.

Almost every year since beginning to write this column, I have penned articles about the phenomenon of wintering hummingbirds. With the official 2020-21 winter season approaching, I have already gotten word of hummingbirds making themselves at a couple of homes in the region, as well as from such far-flung locales as Ohio and New York.

Photo by U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service/Dave Menke • The rufous hummingbird is increasingly becoming a migrant/winter resident in the eastern United States.

Katherine Noblet, a former resident of Johnson City, Tennessee, is hosting a rufous hummingbird at her home in Mount Vernon, Ohio. The tiny bird was banded and identified on Nov. 16. The verdict? The tiny visitor is a first-year female rufous hummingbird.

Noblet, who also hosted rufous hummingbirds when she lived in Tennessee, has posted on Facebook about her most recent winter hummingbird. She noted that the hummingbird, which she has named Reba, first appeared on Nov. 14. Temperatures have dipped into the 20s during the bird’s stay.

“Why a few of these tiny creatures want to hang around this far north is a mystery, but she looks happy and healthy and cannot be existing on just sugar water,” Noblet noted in a Facebook post on Nov. 24. “I have to trust she knows what she is doing.”

Closer to home, some Roan Mountain residents have reported lingering hummingbirds.

Leslie and Kathie Storie, who reside on Heaton Creek in Roan Mountain, Tennessee, posted to Facebook on Oct. 29 about a visiting hummingbird.

Photo by Bryan Stevens • A rufous hummingbird grasps a briar as a perch for a moment’s rest from its frantic activities.

“We had a hummingbird on Heaton Creek about 6 o’clock today,” they noted in a post on my Facebook page.

Although they had already taken down their feeders, they reported still having pineapple sage and lantana in bloom in their yard. These flowers are favorites of hummingbirds and would no doubt help attract one of these tiny birds.

 

Judi Sawyer, also a resident of Roan Mountain, has hosted not one but two rufous hummingbirds this fall. She noticed the birds in early October. One of the two birds was banded and documented on Oct. 4. One of the birds evaded the bander’s traps, but the one that was banded was identified as an immature male rufous hummingbird.

I also received an email recently from Susan Jensen, a resident of Carmel, New York, about a lingering hummingbird at her feeders. She had found one of my online articles about wintering hummingbirds and contacted me for more information.

“We have had ruby-throated hummingbirds for many years and I have three feeders for them during the season,” Jensen said. “I always leave one up until I know for sure everyone has passed through to their winter location.”

In October, she reported a feeder visitor that looked like a strange ruby-throated hummingbird. She described the bird as bronze and rusty with a bit of green.

Photo by Bryan Stevens • Rufous hummingbirds have been extensively documented as wintering throughout the southeastern United States. This male rufous hummingbird was documented in Hampton, Tennessee, a couple of years ago.

“For about two weeks I thought it was a ruby-throated hummingbird until I realized it wasn’t,” Susan wrote in her email.

After a quick Google search, I emailed Susan and put her in touch with Robert Yunick of Schenectady, New York. On Friday, Nov. 20, he traveled to Susan’s home. He banded the bird, which he identified as juvenile female rufous hummingbird, confirming Susan’s thoughts on the bird’s identity. Susan shared a video of the banding process at this link:

https://share.icloud.com/photos/0wh7RBoUKoPsxXBvQi39coTCQ

“It has been here since Oct. 10,” she informed me in an email. She noted that the bird has endured at several freezing nights when the temperature dipped down to 20 degrees.

“I change the feeder every three days and, if it is frozen like it was this morning, I change it again,” she said. “We are now going to bring the feeder in at night and put it out early the next morning.”

A rufous hummingbird hosts in a host’s hand after being banded and documented in Hampton, Tennessee, several years ago.

Susan enjoyed observing the banding process. “The whole process was surprising,” she wrote to me. “I had never witnessed anything like it.”

Susan said the visiting hummingbird got caught in the trap fairly quickly.

“Bob worked very quickly to measure and band her,” Susan added. “It took about 20 minutes and he fed her three times.”

At the conclusion of the process, she got to hold the tiny visitor. “I have held a hummingbird before, but it was still very special,” Susan said.

She also shared what she termed an “extra story” about hummingbirds.

“About three to four years ago, I was sitting on my deck, watching the babies (immature) hummingbirds buzz around later in the evening,” she said. “They chase each other, and do all kinds of acrobatics.”

During that evening’s antics, one of the hummingbirds flew right into the post used to hold Susan’s feeder.

“It knocked itself out, falling on the railing,” Susan explained. “I was stunned. I picked her up and proceeded to do everything wrong until my son came home. He looked up what to do, and we righted all the wrongs.”

They realized that the bird needed to be fed, so they took down the feeder and fed her twice.

“After that, she took off,” Susan noted. “It was amazing.”

Susan shared that she has been feeding the birds at her home in New York’s Hudson Valley for over 30 years.

“My parents got me interested,” she explained. “They took up bird watching when I was in high school and I have been bird watching ever since.”

Watching birds, she noted, is her all-time favorite thing. “Even when my husband and I are hiking we are always looking for something new,” she said. “It never gets old.”

Photo by Daniel Roberts/Pixabay.com • An adult male rufous hummingbird is a dazzling bird. Many of the winter rufous hummingbirds look much less vibrant.

Through the years, I have seen several of these seemingly out-of-place hummingbirds. Some of them remain at their host’s feeders for a brief stay of a few days or a couple of weeks, but some of these hummingbirds have extended their stay for several months, lingering throughout the winter months before eventually departing in February or March.

The big question concerns whether these hummingbirds are truly lost and out of place. The answer, based on everything I have managed to learn, is that these hummingbirds are precisely where they want to be. For still unknown reasons, some of these western hummingbirds make a migration swing through the eastern United States.

Many of the visiting winter hummingbirds turn out to be rufous hummingbirds, which is a species native to the western United States. The birds visiting at the homes of Katherine, Judi, and Susan all turned out to be rufous hummingbirds. It’s likely the visitor reported by the Storeys was also a rufous hummingbird.

In the summer months, the ruby-throated is the expected species of hummingbird in the eastern United States. In the winter months — not so much. However, in regions all across the Eastern United States, as well as along the Gulf Coast, a few ruby-throated hummingbirds are attempting to overwinter.

The rufous hummingbird has basically become an expected winter visitor each year in Southwest Virginia, East Tennessee, and western North Carolina. A few reports are received each winter. I have observed rufous hummingbirds in many different locations throughout East Tennessee and Southwest Virginia.

Winter hummingbirds, while always a delightful surprise for their hosts, no longer shock long-time birders. We’ve grown to expect them. If any readers are still hosting lingering hummingbirds at their feeders, I’d love to hear their stories. Email me at ahoodedwarbler@aol.com.

Hummingbirds complete another nesting season before starting south on annual fall migration

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Photo by Katy Jefferson/Pixabay.com • A ruby-throated hummingbird sips sugar water at a feeder. During migration, blooming flowers and sugar water feeders are valuable sources of quick energy for these tiny flying gems.

Mildred Wright of Fall Branch, Tennessee, recently shared a story through Facebook about a nesting hummingbird in her yard.

In this photo provided by Mildred Wright, the young hummingbirds can be glimpsed in their nest.

“I discovered this hummingbird nest in a tree in my front yard,” she wrote in a Facebook message. “I have watched mom take excellent care of her babies through some really rough weather.”

She explained that she found the nest on June 8 and has observed as the female hummingbird incubated her eggs and then raised her two hatchlings.

Interestingly, there are a few simple reasons it’s always two eggs for hummingbirds. First, the nest is so small — about the size of a walnut half-shell — that there is barely room for two eggs, let alone more. Second, once the young hatch, the nest has just enough room to accommodate them as they grow, fed well by their mother. Third, feeding two hungry young hummingbirds is a demanding task. A female hummingbird has to find enough food to fuel her own body and help her young in the nest grow and thrive. It’s a full-time job during the daylight hours. She’s pressed hard to succeed at raising two young. Attempting to care for more would most likely prove impossible.

In this photo provided by Mildred Wright, two eggs are shown snug inside the female ruby-throated hummingbird’s nest.

Now that many female hummingbirds are finishing up the task of bringing forth a new generation of hummingbirds, the leisurely fall migration can begin. Hummingbirds are not as frantic about moving south in the fall as they are single-minded about heading north every spring. Numbers of these birds always reach a peak in late summer and early fall at my home, and this year’s shaping up to be a repeat of past ones.

Hummingbird species number around 340, making the family second in species only to the tyrant flycatchers in sheer size. Both of these families consist of birds exclusive to the New World.

With so many hummingbird species, people have been hard pressed to give descriptive names to all these tiny gems. Some of the dazzling array of names include little hermit, hook-billed hermit, fiery topaz, sooty barbthroat, white-throated daggerbill, hyacinth visorbearer, sparkling violetear, horned sungem, black-eared fairy, white-tailed goldenthroat, green mango, green-throated carib, amethyst-throated sunangel, green-backed firecrown, wire-crested thorntail, festive coquette, bronze-tailed comet, black-breasted hillstar, black-tailed trainbearer, blue-mantled thornbill, bearded mountaineer, colorful puffleg, marvelous spatuletail, bronzy inca, rainbow starfrontlet, velvet-purple coronet, pink-throated brilliant, coppery emerald, snowcap, golden-tailed sapphire and violet-bellied hummingbird.

Photo by Peggy_Marco/Pixabay.com • The “Doctor Bird,” which is also known as the swallow-tailed hummingbird, resides only on Jamaica.

Our own hummingbird, which we can claim from April through October every year, is the ruby-throated hummingbird. Ruby-throats are remarkable birds that nest throughout the eastern United States as well as southern Canada. In winter, most ruby-throats withdraw to Central America and Mexico, although a few winter in Florida. They are famous for the amazing feat of crossing the Gulf of Mexico twice each year as they travel to their nesting grounds and then back to their overwintering homes.

Photo by BarbeeAnne/Pixabay.com • The bee hummingbird of Cuba is the smallest bird in the world.

The next generation of hummingbirds always helps swell the number of these tiny birds in our yards in late summer and early fall. It’s our duty as host to keep them safe as they stop in our yards and gardens during their fall migration. Many of the hummingbirds in the fall will be making their first migration, so they will need all the help we can provide to make a successful journey.

Perhaps consider enhancing your plantings of summer flowers while also continuing to offer multiple sugar water feeders. Keep the sugar water mix at a four parts water to one part sugar ratio. Don’t offer honey in your feeders. When mixed with water, it can spoil and spread fungal diseases. Remember that hummingbirds don’t subsist on sugar water alone. They also eat numerous tiny insects and spiders to obtain the protein they need for their dietary needs, so don’t use insecticides near feeders or flowers that hummers are likely to visit.

So, until October frosts eventually drive them out of the region, enjoy the ruby-throated hummingbirds while you can.

Photo by Geschenkpanda/Pixabay.com • The buff-bellied coronet is a hummingbird native to Colombia, Ecuador and Venezuela.

Returning ruby-throats, like the rest of world’s hummingbirds, never fail to dazzle

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Photo by Anne and Saturnino Miranda/Pixabay.com • The Cuban emerald is a species of hummingbird found in a wide range of semi-open habitats in Cuba, as well as the Isle of Pines and the western Bahamas. Numbering 330 species, the world’s hummingbirds dazzle humans with their incredibly diverse plumages.

Experts estimate that there are 330 species of hummingbirds, all of which are found in the New World. Consider that these dazzling little birds have been given vividly descriptive names, such as cinnamon-throated hermit, red-tailed comet, blue-chinned sapphire, lazuline sabrewing, sparkling violetear, fiery topaz, green-tailed goldenthroat, bronze-tailed plumeleteer,  amethyst-throated mountain-gem, peacock coquette, red-billed emerald, empress brilliant, purple-backed sunbeam, green-backed hillstar, orange-throated sunangel, black metaltail, marvelous spatuletail and blue-tufted starthroat.

The only reliable species to inhabit the eastern United States from spring to fall each year is the ruby-throated hummingbird, which is currently arriving at various points from Florida to Maine and westward to states like Illinois, Minnesota and Oklahoma.

Photo by Bryan Stevens • Numbers of Ruby-throated Hummingbird in the region tend to fluctuate each year, but people should see a spike in their numbers when the hummingbirds end summer nesting and start migrating south again this autumn.

One of my most memorable hummingbird sightings took place in January of 1999 during a cruise in the Bahamas. A stopover in Nassau and a visit to the Paradise Island Resort permitted me a fleeting glimpse of a Bahama woodstar, a small hummingbird with a superficial resemblance to the ruby-throated hummingbird. The real beauty from my visit to the Bahamas, however, took place on a private cay maintained by the Disney Cruise line. While many passengers enjoyed the sun and sand of the beach, I walked nature trails to find birds. 

Photo by Daniel Roberts/Pixabay.com • The calliope hummingbird is the smallest of its kind known to reside in North America.

I found Western spindalis, then known as stripe-headed tanager, as well as black-faced grassquits and bananaquits, and I got several close looks at male and female Cuban emeralds, a hummingbird found in a wide range of semi-open habitats in Cuba, the Isle of Pines and the western Bahamas. The male is almost entirely metallic or iridescent green and measures almost four inches long. The ones I encountered were also curious and quite tame, often flying within inches of my face. 

Other than the two hummingbirds I saw during that trip, my remaining hummingbird observations have been confined to the United States. That hasn’t prevented me from seeing such unexpected hummingbirds as green-breasted mango, calliope hummingbird, black-chinned hummingbird, rufous hummingbird, Allen’s hummingbird, and broad-tailed hummingbird. 

Photo by Anne and Saturnino Miranda/Pixabay.com • It’s not difficult at all to see how the male Cuban emerald in such vibrant green plumage acquired its common name.

If I ever win the lottery, I plan to see as many hummingbirds as I can. For now, I am happy to report that ruby-throated hummingbirds are returning to northeast Tennessee, southwest Virginia, and western North Carolina.

I received an email from Susie Parks, who lives in the North Cove section of McDowell County in North Carolina. “My daughter, Luanne Graham, and I sighted our first hummer on March 28,” Priscilla noted. 

“I read your column in the McDowell News,” she added. “I am 84 years old and have been a birder most of my life.” 

Susie added that she and her daughter are both retired teachers who live next to each other. “We put our feeders out earlier than usual because she had heard that the hummers might be arriving earlier this year,” Susie wrote.

Susie noted that the first hummingbird sighted at her own feeder arrived on the first day of April, a few days after the hummingbird that visited her daughter’s feeder. “I keep a journal and I always note the first sighting,” she added, “and this is the earliest hummer I have ever recorded.”

This sightings by Susie and Luanne are the earliest I’ve had reported to me this year. 

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Facebook friend Jimmie Daniels in Newland, North Carolina, reported on her Facebook page that the first hummingbird of spring arrived at 6:24 p.m. on Wednesday, April 8.  “We just saw our first hummingbird and that always makes me happy,” she wrote. “If you have not put out feeders yet, it is a good time to do that.”

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Bob Cheers of Bristol, Virginia, reported a ruby-throated female arrived at his home at 7:55 a.m. on Friday, April 10. He speculated that the hummingbird was possibly “the same gal that arrived last year on the same day but 10 hours later.” Bob added that hummingbirds are amazing and that it was almost inconceivable to him that it could be the same bird. Bob, who had read in previous columns that downy woodpeckers and Carolina chickadees occasionally take a sip of sugar water from hummingbird feeders, also asked if I had ever heard of a red-bellied woodpecker feeding regularly at a hummingbird feeder. I’ve not personally witnessed this, but perhaps some readers have seen red-bellied woodpeckers at sugar water feeders. Let me know!

Photo by Bryan Stevens • Despite a perceived disadvantage of size, ruby-throated hummingbirds are quite capable of thriving in a giant world.

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Brenda Hickman Dishner posted on my Facebook page that she spotted her first hummer of spring on Friday, April 10. “We live near Highway 421 and Houston Dam in Bristol, Tennessee,” she added.

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Philip Laws, who lives in Limestone Cove in Unicoi County, reported to me on Facebook that he saw his first hummingbirds on April 10. “Hummers returned to Limestone Cove on Good Friday,” Philip noted.

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Jeanne Siler Lilly reported her first spring hummingbird with a comment on my Facebook page. “I saw one at my feeder on April 10,” she wrote, adding that the bird visited a couple of times.

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Mary Jones in Johnson City said her first hummingbird this year arrived on April 11. “I had one show up the Saturday before Easter and every day since,” she wrote in a Facebook comment. 

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Dianna Lynne in Elizabethton saw her first hummingbird this spring on April 11. “They stopped in on Easter morning at the porch feeder here in Stoney Creek,” Dianne said in a comment on Facebook.

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Erwin resident Amy Wallin Tipton saw her first ruby-throated hummingbird on Easter Sunday.  “I just wanted to let you know I just saw my first male ruby-throat of the season,” Amy wrote in a Facebook message. “It was at 11:55 a.m.”

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Lia Pritchard saw her first hummer of the season on Easter Sunday at her home in Fall Branch, Tennessee. Her father, Glen Eller, shared the report of Lia’s sighting.

Photo by Bryan Stevens • Keep hummingbirds happy with a sugar water solution of four parts water to one part sugar.

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Lynda Carter, who lives in Jonesborough, saw her first hummingbird at 8:45 a.m. on Monday, April 13, after a stormy night. “The bird may have blown in sideways from Arkansas last night,” Lynda joked in an email.

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Richard Lewis in Bristol sent me a message on Facebook to announce the arrival of his first spring hummingbird. “I had my first ruby-throated hummingbird Monday, April 13, at 6 p.m. at my home in Bristol, Tennessee,” he wrote.

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Joneen Sargent, who lives in Sullivan County west of Holston Lake off Highway 421, emailed me at 8:06 p.m. on Monday, April 13, to report her first spring hummingbird. “Just saw my first hummingbird of the season,” Joneen wrote. “Gives me hope.”

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Jane Arnold emailed me to notify me of her mother’s hummingbird sighting. Her mother, Betty Poole, who lives in Abingdon, Virginia, saw her first hummingbird — a female — on Wednesday, April 15. Jane’s still awaiting her first spring hummer. 

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Priscilla Gutierrez saw the first hummingbirds of spring the morning of Wednesday, April 15. “I put out a feeder and by 6 p.m. they were coming to [the] feeder,” Priscilla added in a comment on my Facebook page. 

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Erwin resident April Kerns Fain posted on her Facebook page at 5:32 p.m. on Thursday, April 16, that she saw her first hummingbird. 

Erwin resident Pattie Rowland posted on my Facebook page that she saw her first ruby-throated hummingbird on Friday, April 17. “Just saw a hummer in Erwin,” Pattie wrote. 

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Sharee Bowman reported her first hummingbird of spring in a Facebook message. “I saw my first hummingbird in Cedar Bluff, Virginia, on Friday, April 17,” she wrote. 

Photo by Bryan Stevens • A ruby-throated hummingbird lifts its wings to shake water droplets off its back.