Hummingbird
Action!
Observations from the Field
(April 12,
2007)
Journey North observers talked a lot about the weather — and more — this week. Read some samples below and think about the questions that follow them!
Rubythroats Face a Freeze
Lake Ozark, Missouri: This evening at 6:15PM CST I sighted my first ruby-throated hummingbird at our balcony feeder. We have had our feeder up for the last two weeks WAITING! Tonight we struck gold! Temperature tonight will be around 29 degrees F. Hot weather for the last week but now the cold spell for the next several days!
Think! How do you think the change in weather might affect the visiting hummer? What advice would you give to the observer?
Benton, Kentucky: After a very cold Easter weekend, with most nectar plants just a blackened, frostbitten mess, I had my first male Rubythroat zip across my yard and start working my Coral Honeysuckle. I had wrapped the plant in two old bedspreads each night and secured them with clothespins. It is in full bloom at least 2 weeks ahead of schedule, and I figured that it was my best shot for saving a food source for them. I was glad to see that this brave little male was going about business . . . and that my plant survived pretty much intact to give him some needed food.
Think! What does this tell you about how weather can indirectly affect hummingbirds — and their survival?
The first reported sightings in Alaska were more than 600 miles north of the next closest ones in British Columbia!
Ketchikan, Alaska: 2 female Rufous hummingbirds began feeding at our porch feeders on Sunday, 4/1/07. I had put up feeders about 8 days earlier when I heard that someone south of Ketchikan had seen a Rufous. It's been warm in Oregon and Washington, and we think they've moved north due to warmer temperatures. It's usually the males who arrive first, but these are definitely females: no marked throat patch, small, dull green. By the time mating season arrives, we'll have 24 to 30 of them zipping around our porch.
Think! List the clues that tell you why this observer thinks the Rufous hummers made it as far north as Alaska. What questions do you have?
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Sitka, Alaska: I had my feeders out since 1 April since we normally see the Rufous Hummingbird about the first week of April. We have had a very snowy and cool spring and no flowering plants yet so I did not expect the Rufous soon. As soon as I saw the sighting in Ketchikan, Alaska, I knew we might expect them soon. At least one showed up here on 8 April. Since then, we have had a real warm-up and have lost much snow at sea level.
One reason, I think, that there was such a lag in the British Columbia sightings and Alaska sightings is that there are very few Journey North observers between Vancouver Island and Alaska.
Think! How does this observer explain the sudden appearance of Rufous hummers so far north? What other ideas did you have?
Wrangell, Alaska. Our second grade friends at Evergreen Elementary are still waiting to see their first hummer, but they're hopeful: We put our feeder out on the 4th due to our steadily increasing temperatures! It was a whopping 54 degrees when we put the feeder up. We are seeing increasing flying insect activity and we even had a report of a slug moving around a nearby boardwalk.
Think! Do you think Rufous hummingbirds will be able to meet their basic needs in Wrangell? Explain your thinking.
| Late-breaking
update from Evergreen Elementary! We saw our first hummingbird at our school feeder today (April 11) at high noon! It returned a second time but we were so excited we may have "cheered" him off. We are pretty sure it was a male because of the red patch under his chin. Our feeder is hanging off the school roof so we actually look up. We will continue with our observations! |
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