The ruby-throated hummingbirds arrived at the Tri-State in mid-April. Since then, feeding populations have declined in the first place but are growing. For what?
The first hummers to visit local feeders have their GPS set for more northerly destinations, some as far north as Canada, aiming to nest where they grew up. As they fattened up here and moved on, others replaced them, aiming for ancestral sites not quite as far north. Finally, by mid-May, “our” hummingbirds trickled in, males first, followed by ready-to-nest females.
Because a woman chooses her own outdoor territory, men and builds their own nest alone, when looking for a companion, it is a quick deal before they return to their territory to lie down, hatch and raise their brout, back alone. She’s busy.
You should also keep your eggs warm through the temperature of your 104-degree hatching frame. In cold climates, it is less than a hundred degrees, it cannot move away from the nest for more seconds at a time. Then food is a quick deal. If we’re fast too, we could see it in our feeders.
Until now. There’s been an uptick at our feeders, and we’re seeing a good many females. But we may be fooled by what we’re seeing. Now, in early July, the first babies have fledged the nest and found our feeders. And fledglings, both males and females, look like mom.
Meanwhile, Mom’s back at work. Now he’s built a nest for the time being and is probably already dealing with a breeding moment. This is shown through some other activity in the courtyard: men who perform their mating ritual. When a boy digs up an eligible woguy perched, he embarks on a fantastic spectacle, showing his prowess and shows his bright, piercing throat, immersing himself in a U-shaped flight pattern, down, up and back, down and back, his wings are humming the spectacle. I’m impressed!
Often, however, the feminine shows no interest. However, when he considers it the right time and man is the maximum and competitive to transmit hard genes to his offspring, the 20-second courtship parade ends and the man embarks on another challenge.
When all the breeding women have returned to nesting duties, the males, with nothing to do, return to Costa Rica. What about folk women? Well, again, they’re alone.
If we do the calculations, two weeks for incubation, 3 weeks for flight feeding, in five more weeks, in early August, we will see a cumulative moment in our feeders. Then, however, two reasons for population expansion come into play. First, yes, all new generation toddlers who look like mothers will be looking for simple meals. But the men who will continue to make a stopover will not be “our” men, but men who will return from the northern regions, as their paintings were finished weeks ago. After all, women who breed in the far north cannot handle a breeding moment.
Of course, migratory men can afford to stay where they find good enough food, fatten and only then meander south.
When do hummingbirds triumph at their local peak? End of August in the first two weeks of September. Meanwhile, the young children from the north will head south, alone, with the cubs wandering until the end of October.
Hummer season has a charmingly long way to go!
For more information about birds and bird habitat, see Sharon Sorenson’s books How Birds Behave, Birds in the Yard Month by Month, and Planting Native to Attract Birds to Your Yard. Check her website at birdsintheyard.com, follow daily bird activity on Facebook at SharonSorensonBirdLady, or email her at [email protected].