Hummingbirds
Hummingbird Migration Update: May 1, 2008

Today's Report Includes:

Please Report
Your Sightings! >>

Baby hummers: As tiny
as . . .? >>
Photo: Dorothy Edgington
The Migration: Highlights, Maps, and Questions

Distribution Map

Rufous
Hummingbird

This Week's Animation >>
Sightings >>

Ruby-throated
Hummingbird

This Week's Animation >>
Sightings >>

Handouts: Today's Hummingbird Map Questions
Rufous Questions >                Rubythroat Questions >
Highlights: Peak Migration, Cold, Nests, & More
How Can Hummers Handle Cold Nights? >>
More than 100 new reports this past week! Second graders in Pennsylvania saw a ruby-throated hummingbird buzzing a chickadee. A pre-schooler came face to face with a hovering hummingbird. He was checking our her colorful tie-dyed shirt. Another observer noticed a female flying to a lump on a branch on an oak tree. There she spotted a nest no bigger than a walnut!

But things were tough for some hummers this week: Nighttime temperatures in much of the country plunged. Some of you have wondered if rubythroats can handle the cold. Discover some of their secrets here! >>

Some reporters out west say their rufies were late because of the cold, wet April. But the rufous trek east into the mountains continues. If you missed last week's slideshow, click here to find out why they're headed up! >>

Be sure to come back next week to watch baby nestlings come to life and to hear podcasts created by fourth grade hummer lovers!
  • Highlights: What else are observers along Migration Trail saying? >>
Journal: Mother Hummer Baby Care

You think building nests is hard work. Wait until you discover what raising baby hummingbirds is like! But first, imagine you are this mother hummer.

  • Describe what happens in your nest. How do your nestlings survive and grow? And what's your role?
  • Write your story in your Hummingbird Journal >>

Then come back next week for an exciting peek inside. Watch the nestlings come to life in our online slideshow!

What's happening inside?
Photo: Ed Robertson
Science Spotlight: How Do They Find Home?

Photo: Russ Thompson

We've noticed something interesting in your reports. Many of you say things like this: "This hummer was one of 'ours' because he hovered everywhere that a feeder hung last year." Do hummingbirds really return to the same spot each spring? If you were a tiny hummer, how could you find one tiny feeder on a thousand mile journey? Explore!

  • How Do They Find Their Way Back? >>
Year-end Evaluation: Please Share Your Thoughts! >>
Will you take a few minutes to complete our Year-end Evaluation? (We'll still send hummer reports through May.)

Only with your help can we document Journey North's reach, impact, and value. The information you provide is critical for planning new initiatives and for improving Journey North. Thank you!

Year-end Evaluation >>
This Week's Hummingbird Resources

Hummingbird Nest: A Journal of Poems >>
  • JN for Kids Photo Studies: Stunning hummingbird photos and video clips along with observation questions >>
  • Assessment Tools: What Have We Learned About Hummingbirds? >>
  • Slideshow: Building a Hummingbird Nest — Soft, Strong, and Stretchy >>
  • Hummingbird Arrivals: Rubythroat Chart and Rufous Chart
  • Tips: How to Help Hummingbirds and Their Habitat >>
  • Hummingbird Migration Journals (click-and-print) >>
  • Children's Books We Like: Hummingbird Nest: A Journal of Poems (See link, right)
More Hummingbird Lessons and Teaching Ideas!

The Next Hummingbird Migration Update Will Be Posted on May 8, 2008.

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