Lexington, KY - Some creatures have a universal appeal. Rabbits, ducks and dragonflies have a storybook appearance that charms most everyone. For me, seeing a hummingbird is magical each and every time.
The creatures do not offer much in the way of a bird song, vocalizing with chirping notes instead. Their wings make a whirring sound when they are in flight, referred to as wing whistle. Their coloration can be brilliant, especially the throat area, or gorget, the flat iridescent feathers that flash like jewels in the sun.
Of the 340 species worldwide, and the 23 species that frequent North America, only the ruby-throated hummingbird regularly nests in our area. (Sightings of rufous hummingbirds are becoming more frequent, however.) This diminutive bird arrives in Kentucky around the middle of April. The males come about a week before the females to mark their feeding territory, with their arrival timed to coincide with the nectar rich spring flowers.
Adding the right plants to your garden will dramatically increase the likelihood of attracting hummingbirds. Tom Barnes, extension professor and wildlife extension specialist at the University of Kentucky, offers a long list of summer native plant suggestions: Indian pink, wild bergamot, bee balm, royal catchfly, cardinal flower and blazing star. Try adding native vines, such as trumpet creeper, crossvine, coral or trumpet honeysuckle and passionflower. Hummingbirds are also attracted to some annuals: nicotiana, scarlet sage, dianthus, zinnia and snapdragons, for example.
Hummingbirds also enjoy using feeders. Put your feeders out in April and leave them out until at least mid-October. Since hummingbirds are highly territorial, it's a good idea to put out several single feeders rather than one feeder with multiple ports. Ideally each feeder would not be visible from the others to avoid triggering aggressive behavior.
If you have insect problems at your feeder, do not use insecticides; instead, look for feeders with insect guards and water moats. To discourage bees, you can dilute the sugar solution in the feeder. Change the sugar solution every few days to avoid bacterial contamination. It's also very important to keep the feeder clean. Every week or so wash the feeder with a mild detergent, submerge it in a weak bleach solution, and then rinse it very thoroughly with water to remove every trace of the bleach and detergent.
Hummingbirds can consume a lot of nectar every day, which they lap up with their tongue. Nectar is not a balanced source of nutrients, so hummingbirds get their protein by consuming insects - up to 400 or 500 per day. Insects are also fed to their babies. Barnes suggests placing ripe fruit next to the feeder because it will attract gnats and other insects that the birds like to eat.
Hummingbirds also need a reliable source of water. A mister or a dripper will be very attractive to them.
Ruby-throated hummingbirds overwinter in southern Mexico, Central and South America and the West Indies. This jewel that graces our gardens makes the 500-mile Gulf crossing non stop. Normally weighing in at about three grams, they double their weight in order to have enough energy to make this epic journey. This tiny bird can fly at a rate of up to 25 to 30 miles per hour, its wings beating about 70 times per second. During a high speed dive, their wing beats can increase to 200 per second and they can reach 60 miles per hour.
They return to our region to mate. Courtship includes a flight display, something these amazing acrobats are very adept at, being able to fly forwards, backwards and sideways, and to hover in mid air. They can do this because their wings attach only to the shoulder joint, which allows them to rotate almost 180 degrees.
The male leaves the female after mating. The female builds her wee nest, about half the size of a walnut shell, out of lichen and other materials. It is bound with spider silk, which allows this tiny structure to expand as the babies grow. The nest straddles a downward sloping branch like a saddle. She generally lays two white eggs, which she incubates for about 16 days, and she will produce two, or occasionally three, broods. The female also raises the babies by herself and, after about 22 days, the young are ready to leave the nest.
It is not uncommon for a female ruby-throated hummingbird to use the same tree, even the same branch, in successive years. The nests are fairly fragile so they cannot be reused.
By mid-August most of the male hummers will have departed. The females and immature young will leave by mid-September. Keep your feeders up for any vagrants that may pass through, though. You just might get some interesting and unusual hummingbird visitors.
The more you learn about these birds, the more amazing they become. Their energy and beauty cannot be matched by any garden art that can be purchased or created with human hands.