Ruby-throated Time!
Spring is in the air and you know
what that means! It will not be long before you see your first
Ruby-throated Hummingbird headed to their nesting ground. Many folks in
south Georgia are already seeing their first hummers and those in the Atlanta
area should be seeing their first one around the end of March. If you live in the
mountains it usually is about 2 weeks later. So get your feeders clean
and filled with fresh nectar so you can be ready to see these beautiful birds
in their pristine plumage.
Another way to be ready for the
spring and summer hummer season is to spruce up your flower garden and plant
some flowers that the hummers will enjoy. Georgia Hummers is having a Spring
Plant Sale on April 16, 2011 at the Cotton Depot in Monroe, GA. Check out the Scheduled
Events for more info. We hope to see you there!
Winter Hummer Season Winding
Down
Those of you that were blessed
with winter hummingbirds this year are probably already missing them, or will
be shortly. Most of the winter hummers are gone prior to the
Ruby-throats arriving, but sometimes a few hang in there until April. We
are interested in knowing the last day you see your winter hummer. It
helps us understand when these birds head back to their nesting grounds
especially the ones we have banded and know the age of the bird. If
you should get a winter hummer be sure to let us know by Reporting
Your Hummers you can also use this link to report the last day you see
your bird. We are interested in knowing about any hummingbird sighting
after November 1st until March 1st.
Georgia Has Hummingbirds Year
Round
Georgia is a great place to watch
hummingbirds. Like the rest of the Southeast we have hummingbirds all year
long. While we only have one specie that breeds here, we have had eleven other species that have been recorded in Georgia.
Our resident breeder the Ruby-throated Hummingbird arrives in Georgia in early
March and usually is last seen around mid-October. Prior to the
Ruby-throats departure we start seeing the winter hummingbird species start to
arrive. Most winter hummers show up at feeders in mid-November through
December, but they could show up at anytime. These winter hummingbirds can
stay into late March or early April. This past winter we had a
record season for winter hummingbirds. For more details, check out the Winter
Hummingbird Sightings page, so you can see where and what species were
reported.
Below are two western species of
hummingbirds banded in the Atlanta area a few winters ago. The first two photos are
of an adult male Calliope Hummingbird in Decatur, GA and the third picture is a
young male Black-chinned Hummingbird in Roswell, GA. The adult male
Calliope returned to the same yard again this winter! Click on the photo to
enlarge photo.
© Rusty Trump 2003
We recommend that you leave
at least one feeder out all year. You may get one of these western
species spend the winter in your yard. If you do, let us know
through Reporting
Your Hummers! We would like you to report any hummingbird that
you see after November 1st through March 1st.
Buff-bellied Hummingbird in
Georgia!
On January 2nd, Martha and
Richard Armstrong had a very special visitor to their hummingbird feeder on
St. Simons Island! Georgia's 2nd ever Buff-bellied Hummingbird.
The bird was banded by Doreen Cubie Tues morning 1/5/10 and is sharing its
feeder with a Ruby-throated Hummingbird. Here is a photo taken by
Richard and Martha Armstrong.
Broad-tailed Hummingbird in
Georgia!
©2005 Rusty Trump
In the 2005-2006 season, we had three very rare visitors to Georgia, Broad-tailed Hummingbirds!
All three of the birds that visited GA were hatching year males. Hatching
year means the bird was hatched this calendar year, so the bird is approximately 4 months old.
The bird above was visiting a feeder in the Big Canoe subdivision near Jasper, GA.
We also had one near Suwanee and near Lake Rabun. Should these records
be accepted, it will be the 4th, 5th and 6th
ever record for Georgia. So keep watching those feeders, you may get one
of these little visitors from the western US. Click on the any of the
above images to enlarge.
White Hummingbirds in Georgia
Last summer was about average for white hummingbird sightings in Georgia.
In 2004, Russell Johnson
in Ellijay, GA had one show up in early September at his feeders and spent most
of the month there. He reported that it was usually the dominant bird.
Here are couple great photos that he took of this bird.
© Russell Johnson 2004
Five Hummingbird Nests in Three
Years!
I am not sure what the record is
for the most hummingbird nests on a porch, but Gene and Gaye Bottorff are off to
a good start. In 2002, they had a nest on one of their porch swings that
fledged two young. To see photos of that nest and young click
Gainesville 2002. Gene preserved the
nest by taking the swing down and putting it in storage over the winter. It
paid off. In 2003, a female hummer fixed up the nest and laid two eggs.
For some unknown reason, this bird abandoned this nest and then a female started
building a nest on his other porch swing! This nest fledged one young. This year, Gene noticed two females fighting over his porch light.
Shortly after, one female started building a nest and laid two eggs. Only
one of these eggs hatched and Gene assisted me in banding this bird at about 15
days old. Click on photos to enlarge.
© Rusty Trump 2004
After banding this bird, we went to
look at the old nests on both of his porch swings. The nest from 2002/2003
was starting to deteriorate, but the nest from last year was repaired and new
material was added to it. Gene got a ladder and we looked in the nest to
discover two eggs. Below is the sequence of photos of this nest.
Click on any photo to enlarge.
© Rusty Trump 2004
Above: In the first photo
are the eggs. Note how the female was not finished putting the lichens on
the nest. You can see the pink dryer lint that Gaye put out for the birds.
In the second photo, the female is brooding the young. In
the third photo, the first baby has hatched. You can still see the broken
shell and the unhatched egg next to it. In the fourth photo, the young are
1 & 2 days old and the fifth photo shows them at 2 & 3 days old.
© Rusty Trump 2004
Above: In the first photo,
the young are 3 & 4 days old. In the second photo, they are 4 & 5 days old.
In the third photo, they are 5 & 6 days old. In the fourth photo, they are 8
& 9 days old. The fifth photo shows the young the day we banded them
when they were 10 & 11 days old. Please note that it is unlawful to disturb
or remove nesting birds without a federal and state permit.
Below: The next three photos
shows the young at 10 & 11 days old. The second photo, shows the 11 day old
nestling.
The third photo shows the 10 day old nestling. This nestling must have
been fed right before banding as you can see its crop is quite full and bulging. Look closely on its leg and
you can see its new band!
© Rusty Trump 2004
Below: The first photo shows
the young at 12 & 13 days old. The second photo at 14 & 15 days old.
The third photo at 16 & 17 days old. The fourth photo is at 18 & 19 days
old. The fifth photo shows the two at 20 & 21 days old. Both birds
fledged the next day at 21 & 22 days old.
© Rusty Trump 2004
