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[h=1]Marcia Davis: Will early-blooming flowers attract early hummers?[/h]
Marcia Davis/Special to the News Sentinel Autumn sage (Salvia greggii) is a drought-resistant hummingbird favorite with many small nectar-bearing flowers. It blooms almost continuously from spring until the first killing frost in fall.
Will ruby-throated hummingbirds arrive early this spring? If they do they'll find an abundance of early-blooming flowers and unseasonably warm temperatures.
April 1 is my usual target date to put out the hummingbird feeders. However, I often don't see my first hummer before April 10. I put my feeders out five days early this year to be prepared for any early hummers.
Besides sugar water in a feeder (the standard mixture is 1 cup table sugar dissolved in 4 cups water) hummers will find nectar-bearing flowers in my yard. Some of my favorite hummingbird plants, like autumn sage and crossvine, are blooming earlier than I can ever remember. A patch of native columbine in full bloom is having its best spring ever.
Northward advancement of migrating ruby-throats depends on the availability of nectar-bearing flowers and small insects for food. Food availability depends somewhat on temperature. Hummers usually don't move north until temperatures rise above 35 degrees in any specific region. As temperatures rise, important native hummingbird plants like dwarf red buckeye trees and wild columbine come into flower and provide fuel in the form of nectar. The flowers attract many small insects that are eaten by hummingbirds. Nectar and insects are the fuel for migration.
With the unseasonably warm weather, some ruby-throats might migrate north earlier this spring. If they do they could be taking a big risk. They could get caught without food if a cold snap occurs that freezes flowers and sends insects back into hiding. There are lots of insects around the flowers in my yard this week — more than I've ever noticed this time of year. More insects and more nectar means more hummer food.
Exactly when a hummer first arrives in spring depends somewhat on when it leaves its wintering grounds — and the location of its wintering grounds. Ruby-throats embark on their spring itineraries from as far away as Panama or as close as the Gulf Coast where a few winter.
Northbound movement through Central America begins in January and February. Ruby-throats gorge on insects and nectar along the way. They grow fatter and fatter until it's time to fly across the Gulf of Mexico from Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula. Ruby-throats have a staggered migration from Mexico to the U.S. and Canada over a period of about three months from late February to early May. They don't all fly across the Gulf at the same time. That would be very risky as a calamity could wipe out the entire population.
So how do you know if the first ruby-throat that visits your hummingbird feeder or flowers this spring is an earlier than normal arrival? If you don't keep records of your personal early and late arrival dates, check out a couple of websites to see what's happening in Tennessee. Check the migration map at www.hummingbirds.net.
Admins please delete and ban me -- sorry
[h=1]Marcia Davis: Will early-blooming flowers attract early hummers?[/h]
- By Marcia Davis
- Knoxville News Sentinel
- Posted March 31, 2012 at 2 p.m.
Marcia Davis/Special to the News Sentinel Autumn sage (Salvia greggii) is a drought-resistant hummingbird favorite with many small nectar-bearing flowers. It blooms almost continuously from spring until the first killing frost in fall. Will ruby-throated hummingbirds arrive early this spring? If they do they'll find an abundance of early-blooming flowers and unseasonably warm temperatures.
April 1 is my usual target date to put out the hummingbird feeders. However, I often don't see my first hummer before April 10. I put my feeders out five days early this year to be prepared for any early hummers.
Besides sugar water in a feeder (the standard mixture is 1 cup table sugar dissolved in 4 cups water) hummers will find nectar-bearing flowers in my yard. Some of my favorite hummingbird plants, like autumn sage and crossvine, are blooming earlier than I can ever remember. A patch of native columbine in full bloom is having its best spring ever.
Northward advancement of migrating ruby-throats depends on the availability of nectar-bearing flowers and small insects for food. Food availability depends somewhat on temperature. Hummers usually don't move north until temperatures rise above 35 degrees in any specific region. As temperatures rise, important native hummingbird plants like dwarf red buckeye trees and wild columbine come into flower and provide fuel in the form of nectar. The flowers attract many small insects that are eaten by hummingbirds. Nectar and insects are the fuel for migration.
With the unseasonably warm weather, some ruby-throats might migrate north earlier this spring. If they do they could be taking a big risk. They could get caught without food if a cold snap occurs that freezes flowers and sends insects back into hiding. There are lots of insects around the flowers in my yard this week — more than I've ever noticed this time of year. More insects and more nectar means more hummer food.
Exactly when a hummer first arrives in spring depends somewhat on when it leaves its wintering grounds — and the location of its wintering grounds. Ruby-throats embark on their spring itineraries from as far away as Panama or as close as the Gulf Coast where a few winter.
Northbound movement through Central America begins in January and February. Ruby-throats gorge on insects and nectar along the way. They grow fatter and fatter until it's time to fly across the Gulf of Mexico from Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula. Ruby-throats have a staggered migration from Mexico to the U.S. and Canada over a period of about three months from late February to early May. They don't all fly across the Gulf at the same time. That would be very risky as a calamity could wipe out the entire population.
So how do you know if the first ruby-throat that visits your hummingbird feeder or flowers this spring is an earlier than normal arrival? If you don't keep records of your personal early and late arrival dates, check out a couple of websites to see what's happening in Tennessee. Check the migration map at www.hummingbirds.net.
