As an avid hummingbird enthusiast, I love hearing from others who also enjoy hummingbirds as well. In fact, the chance to share useful information as well as the chance to connect with the readers of this blog is some of the main reasons why I love operating this site so very much. The information for today’s post comes from Dick Ledbetter, a reader of this blog who has provided several useful comments in the past. Thanks so much for that Dick and for allowing me to use some of this information as a post.
Dick Ledbetter and his wife live in Chickasha, Oklahoma, where they have both Ruby-throated Hummingbirds and Black-chinned Hummingbirds. According to Dick, the Black-chinned Hummingbirds appear in greater numbers then the Ruby-throated Hummingbirds.
Dick says that that each year he usually finds several hummingbird nest, but that this has not been the case this year. This may be because the area experienced a colder then normal spring with continual almost gale force winds and then hotter temperatures but still with continual high winds. As a result, the number of hummingbirds is down 25% as compared to what is normal and Dick has not found a single hummingbird nest!
Dr. Chris Butler brings his ornithology students down from Edmond (UCO) Oklahoma and bands hummingbirds in our yard. As someone who has never witnessed that firsthand myself, what an incredible sight that must be to witness. It would also seem to indicate that you must have an astounding number of hummingbirds visit your yard each season. Is this true?
Dick’s friends, Ned Batchelder and his wife Gigi, are from Chickasha but live in Montana at the present time. They band hummingbirds full time during the season and work at odd jobs during the off season. They have banded over 31 thousand hummingbirds in several different states. According to Dick, he does not believe there are any others who have banded even close to the number they have banded. Of course, most people who band hummingbirds are not able to band full time as Ned and Gigi do!
I do not know if the number of hummingbirds seen this season is down in all parts of Oklahoma or not. While I have no reason to doubt that this is true, I do not have further evidence to support this. If anyone else has something to add to the discussion, please feel free to comment on the matter.
One reply on “Information On Hummingbirds In Oklahoma”
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