Month: July 2010

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Dear Mom Hummingbirds

Is the Nest Abandoned Or Not?

A relative had found a hummingbird nest in their yard and they then spent the next several days observing it and the activity of the mother feeding her young. I then received a call because the relative was concerned because they feared the young hummingbird had been abandoned by its mother. They wanted to know what to do if anything. My advice follows and I know that my mom would have been fascinated by the situation as well.

It is very rare for abandonment to occur but it can happen. Take note of whether the young appear to be healthy. This is a good sign that the young are being well cared for. It is likely that the mother bird has gone in search of food to feed the young and will eventually return to the nest. Another possible explanation may be that due to the young hummingbird’s stage of development the need for feeding may occur very infrequently and you are therefore unable to observe it happening.

The best advice I can offer is that you will need to watch the nest continuously for an hour or longer to know if the mother hummingbird has returned to the nest or not. If after all this, you have not seen the mother hummingbird return, I would then finally recommend that you contact a wildlife expert for further assistance with handling the matter.

I am happy to report that the nest in my relative’s yard had not been abandoned, as the relative saw the mother hummingbird later in the day. Of course, this news made me quite happy, but I was also pleased to be able to provide them with the knowledge and assistance required. I sincerely hope this information could also benefit you if it ever became necessary.

Categories
Hummingbird Videos

Gardening for Hummingbirds

This video will tell you how to naturally attract hummingbirds. You will discover why it is important to naturally attract hummingbirds. You will find out to properly prepare the container prior to planting your plants as well as a wide variety of plants that you can put in a container garden and how it is best to arrange the plants in the container.

Categories
Hummingbird Food Hummingbirds

Is It Easier to Attract Hummingbirds In the Fall?

In my personal opinion, in the fall it is easier to attract hummingbirds than in the spring. This post will explain why I believe this to be true.

In the fall hummingbirds will be searching for their winter feeding territory. As a result, hummingbirds are much more likely to linger at a good feeding spot and may remain there for between one to two weeks.

You will want to be sure and continue to provide food for the hummingbirds until the late fall. This will provide migrating hummingbirds food on which to feed along their long migratory journey. My best advice is that you leave your hummingbird feeders up for at least two weeks after you have seen your last hummingbird. This will ensure that that there is an available food source for any vagrant hummingbirds that still remain in the area after the other hummingbirds have left the area.

Please do not worry that leaving your feeders up in the fall will prevent the hummingbirds from migrating because this is simply not true. What will determine when migration occurs is a change in the length of the day or what is known as photoperiod.

Let me state the obvious, yes it is possible to attract hummingbirds in the spring also. People do it all the time and you should continue to try to do so as well, but this post is simply to explain why I think attracting hummingbirds is easier in the fall. Your personal opinion on this subject may also be affected by where it is that you live. Feel free to let me know how you feel concerning this matter.

Categories
Hummingbird Food Hummingbirds

Hummingbird Migration Information

Are you someone whom is aware of the fact that hummingbirds migrate but after that you do not know anything about the migration habits of these birds? Well, then you are not alone and today’s post will provide you with some useful facts regarding hummingbird migration habits.

Many hummingbird species are known to migrate twice a year, in the spring and in the fall. It may surprise you to know that not every species of hummingbird migrates. During any hummingbird season you may see an occasional hummingbird remain around well after the others have left the area. This is usually due to the bird being unable to survive the migratory journey and the best thing you can do is leave your feeders up to help provide these birds with a source of food. The flowers and plants that also help feed the hummingbirds may no longer be blooming so this makes your feeder an even more vital food source.

Prior to making the long migratory journey, it is necessary for the hummingbird to gain a vast amount of body weight, between 25-40 percent of its body weight. This is vital to the bird’s survival while making the long migratory journey.

Different hummingbird species will take a different migration path. Hummingbirds choose to make this journey alone rather then in groups. Doing this means that the available food source does not have to be shared.

A hummingbird will follow the exact same route year after year. The route that will always be followed is the same exact route that was taken the first time the bird made a migration journey. As a result, it is possible for the hummingbird to return to the same exact flower or food source that it visited in the past. This astounds me! What about you? After all, how is it possible for the hummingbird to remember the exact flower or food source it has visited in the past, especially given that a hummingbird will visit between 1.000-2,000 flowers per day!

I hope that you have enjoyed discovering a little bit about the amazing migratory journey of the hummingbird. If you are like me, this is just yet another of the many things you admire about the hummingbird.

Categories
Hummingbirds

Information On Hummingbirds In Oklahoma

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.