Author: Hummingbird

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Hummingbirds

Houston Has Hummingbirds in the Winter

Whenever I think of seeing hummingbirds I think of having them in the area in the spring and fall.   Living as I do in southeast Texas, which is located about 90 miles east of Houston, I don’t remember ever having seen many hummingbirds in this  area in the winter.  A friend recently asked if there were any hummingbirds found nearby in the the winter.  Not wanting to answer the question without having looked into the subject, I replied that I would get back to them with the answer to this question.  This is what has lead me to write this post.

According to the Huston Audubon Society, there are several species of hummingbirds which one might site in Houston during the winter months.  There are a very small number of Ruby-throated Hummingbirds which actually winter-over in the Houston area along with small numbers of Rufous Hummingbirds.

It is relatively common for Black-chinned Hummingbirds to be found in the Houston area during the winter months.  It may surprise you to discover, as it did me, that 85% of the time whenever people see what they believe to be a Ruby-throated Hummingbird in the winter is actually a Black-chinned Hummingbird, according to Brent Ortega, a local expert on hummingbirds.

Apart from the hummingbird species mentioned previously in this post, you might also see the following hummingbird species in the Houston area during the winter:  Anna’s, Allen’s, Broad-tailed and Buff-bellied Hummingbirds,

Although Houston is not right next door to Beaumont it isn’t extremely far away either, so there are hummingbirds that can be seen there during the winter months.  There also might be a rare vagrant hummingbird that will actually visit us closer to home, but there is no way to know for certain if this will occur or not.  

If you want to be helpful to the hummingbirds, why not leave your feeders up during the winter months?  Any hummingbirds that visit it will be grateful for the source of food and they will rely on it more then at other times of the year.  Due to the fact that the normal winter temperatures found in Houston are warmer then in other parts of the country, your feeders will only need to be brought inside on nights in which a freeze has been predicted. 

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Dear Mom

A Few Hummingbird Migration Facts

If you are an avid hummingbird enthusiast, then you will understand when I say that the yard can sure seem mighty lonely without the presence of these little flying dynamos.  My mom and I would miss the aerial displays and territorial behavior of the hummingbirds once they had migrated out of our area of the country.  Have you ever wondered about the journey that these birds make when they leave your area of the country or prior to the hummingbird’s return to the area?  If so, then this post was written with you in mind.

The term migration means the annual movements of the hummingbirds between one region or habitat and another.  Hummingbirds migrate during  both the spring and fall each year.  Also, a hummingbird will follow the exact same path each year from the first time they every made the migratory journey.  These are just a few of the facts about hummingbird migration that I wish to share with you today.

Generally speaking, hummingbirds do not fly very high during migration.  Whenever the hummingbirds are over land, they fly at about treetop level, because this helps them to be able to see and locate potential food sources along the path of their journey.

A hummingbird would be unable to survive the cold temperatures that are found at higher altitudes.  These birds are much too small and there for lack the insulation that they would need to do so. The fact that hummingbirds can’t survive the colder temperatures found at higher altitudes should make people realize that there is no truth whatsoever to the common myth of hummingbirds migrating on the backs of Canadian geese.

A hummingbird that flies over water durning its migratory journey will do so just above the wave tops.

I hope that this post gives you a better understanding of the journey that the hummingbird makes durning both the spring and fall of each year.  Think of it this way, the birds are leaving us for a while but they will eventually return.  Thank goodness, because, in my own opinion, hummingbirds make the world a much happier and brighter place.  That is because each time I see one it serves to remind me of my mom and thoughts of  her always make me happy.

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Hummingbird Videos

Hummingbirds:How Do Hummingbirds Protect Themselves?

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Even as tiny as they are, hummingbirds are quite capable of protecting themselves.  Have you ever wondered just how the hummingbird does this?  This video will allow you to discover the various techniques and methods that the hummingbird will use to protect themselves.

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Dear Mom

How Tiny is a Hummingbird?

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As you probably already know, hummingbirds are very small, but just what does that mean?  This is something that many people have often wondered but probably never bothered to discover on their own.  I know that this is something my mom always wanted to know herself, but I do not think she ever really tried to find the answer for herself.  Well, if you are like her, then this post will provide you with the answer to this question.

Any species of hummingbird measures between 2.5-8 inches or between 6-20 cm in length.  Thus aptly earning the hummingbird the title as the smallest of all the birds. 

In terms of its weight, the hummingbird weighs about as much as a United States penny, which weighs approximately .1 ounce.

As these few facts would indicate, the hummingbird is an extremely tiny little bird.  In fact, it may be even smaller then you yourself could even have imagined.  I wish my mom was still alive today for me to be able to ask her if this information would come as a surprise to her or not.  I would imagine that she would have said she was astonished to discover just how tiny the hummingbird actually is in reality.

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Hummingbird Food

How Honey Harms Hummingbirds

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If you enjoy hummingbirds and wish to feed them, I have an extremely important reminder for you.  You should never make your nectar solution using honey!  Here is a brief explanation as to why you must not do this. 

The honey will spoil quite rapidly because it ferments and this cause a deadly bacterium to form.  No matter what you may have heard before, honey is not "more natural" than the cane sugar that is sold as white sugar. Honey has been chemically altered by honey bees: it consist of flower nectar and whatever ever else the honey bee ingested, digested, and spit back out again. Honey is nothing like the sucrose found in flower nectar and white sugar.