Answers From the Hummingbird Expert
Teaching Suggestions | Q & A
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Special thanks to Lanny Chambers from hummingbirds.net |
New York
Q. How can we find a hummingbird nest? We live in upstate New York and get one male-female pair visiting
our feeder in the summer. We would like to investigate where they nest
- perhaps to peak in and see the eggs like we do in our birdhouses for
bluebirds or the other birds that nest in our trees. Any ideas?
A: Ruby-throated hens nest on tree branches. anywhere between 5 and 80 feet
off the ground. Nests are usually found by accident, after the leaves
fall, but a few people have been successful in following a female from
a feeder back to her nest. Since you'd only be able to see her for a short
part of each trip, it would take a lot of time and patience...and a whole
lot of luck.
Pennsylvania
Q. If we take lichen branches from our tree and distribute
them around to people we know who have hummingbird feeders, will we help
hummers to find nesting material or will we be spreading disease which
will kill other trees? Will the lichens from the dead wood spread to living
trees? We have noticed that hummers make their nests out of lichens similar to
those we find on dead tree branches. One dead tree in our neighborhood is
covered with such lichens.
A: A hummingbird typically uses lichen from the same branch to camouflage
her nest, so it will blend in perfectly. They probably won't use lichen
from another source. If you have a furry pet (dog or cat), hang some of
its hair in a mesh onion bag and see what takes it for nesting.
Washington
Q. If a hummingbird nest is destroyed (extremely high winds ripped the nest
out of the shrub) will the female have another clutch?
A: Yes, right away, if it's not too late in the season.
Q. How will the unseasonably cold and snowy weather affect
the eggs? Hummers go torpid at night and in cold weather, do the eggs
do this too?
A: No, eggs don't go torpid, and neither do nesting females. They need to
maintain full body heat to incubate their eggs. Don't worry, they've been
doing this successfully for thousands of years. If a clutch is lost due
to weather, the hen will start another nest right away.
Pennsylvania
Q. Do these birds reuse their nests each season?
A: Ruby-throated apparently don't, but some western species do. Some have
up to five broods per season, often alternating between two nest locations.
Q. How can you find a nest, if they do not reuse them each season?
A: Some old nests are found when trees are cut or trimmed. Remember that
it's against the law to keep any wild native wild bird's nest without
a special permit.
Q. Do they change mates?
A: Hummingbirds
are promiscuous, and don't form pairs at all; males take no part in nesting
past fertilizing the eggs. A female may choose a different father for
every brood. As soon as mating is finished, the male starts looking for
another female to impress.
Washington
Q. What is the life cycle/span of a hummingbird?
A: The average hummingbird lifespan is about 4 years. The record
is 12 years.
Q. What else beside white sugar and water can we feed the hummingbirds as white
sugar is unhealthy?
A: White sugar is NOT unhealthy for hummingbirds. It's an almost-pure
form of sucrose, the principal sugar found in the nectars of flowers that
hummingbirds use. It's the most natural thing you could put in a feeder,
and the only hummingbird food supplement scientifically proven safe. The
brownish sugars from health food stores are less safe because they contain
iron, which is fatally toxic to hummingbirds.
California
Q. Where
do the rufous hummingbirds which show up at my house on the far northern
coast of California in mid to late February overwinter? How many miles do
they travel during each day of their migration?
A: See this map for their winter range. The
daily distance depends on a lot of variables, but probably averages about
25 miles per day.
Q. Do Anna's migrate? We have Anna's hummingbirds here on the north coast of California
seemingly all year.
A: No.
New York
Q. Do the same hummingbirds return year after year? I feed hummingbirds (ruby-throated mostly) all summer
in the Adirondack Mts of New York State.
A: As a rule, yes.
Florida
Q. How can I attract hummingbirds in Punta Gorda, on the southwest coast of Florida? I moved from PA, where I had lots of hummers every summer. I thought I would
have hummers here as they traveled. They are seen just north and south of
us, but Punta Gorda and Pine Island seem to be void of them. I have lots
of flowers that I know they love and had a feeder out for quite some time,
then gave up. I miss them! Any ideas?
A: Punta
Gorda is very close to the southern edge of the Ruby-throated breeding
range, so there won't be a lot of hummers in any event. I've never been
there, but I'm guessing your local habitat isn't what they're looking
for to raise families.
Oregon
Q: When do the hummingbirds hatch their babies? I think I've seen some here,
but am not sure. The ruby throats live here all year. (Oregon, Willamette
Valley).
A: FYI,
your hummingbirds are Anna's, not Ruby-throated. Anna's may nest several
times between February and May, with chicks hatching about three weeks
into each nest cycle.
California
Q: What kind of hummingbird is white and has regular colored eyes? Last summer I had a white hummingbird at my feeder. In looking at all the
books I could find, I could find a white-albino hummingbird but it had pink
eyes. Mine did not, it had regular colored eyes like other hummingbirds.
It has not returned during the year.
A: Technically, only pure-white birds with pink eyes, bills, and feet are
classed as "albino." Yours was what's known as "leucistic."
White feathers are weak and brittle, and virtually all white hummers are
youngsters; very few survive their first year. Given your location, your
white hummer was probably an Anna's.
New
York
Q. Is there a reason hummers are not visiting my yard even though the migration map indicates they arrived in May? I live in the Northeast and have hummingbirds that visit my feeder and
deck flowers. However I do not usually see them until late August. From
the migration map I've learned that they arrive in New York in May. Is there
a reason they don't visit earlier or am I not doing enough to attract them?
A: You
may not have good nesting habitat in your immediate area, so you don't
see any hummers until the chicks leave the nest and disperse to prepare
for their first migration. You can't attract birds that aren't there.
Iowa
Q. Do female ruby-throated hummingbirds have red patches? On a YouTube video, a hummingbird parent is shown feeding young hummingbirds. I
noticed that the parent had a red patch on its throat. Do female ruby-throated
hummingbirds sometimes have red patches? I have read that it is only the
females that raise the young so this video has me puzzled.
A: That video clip was made in San Diego, California. Those are Anna's Hummingbird,
not Ruby-throated. Adult female Anna's usually have a triangle of red
feathers in the throat.
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