End of Hummingbird Season Report
As I reflect on our 2024 ruby-throated hummingbird season the word that comes to mind is NUMBERS. Each one important, each one a story of its own yet collectively allows us to continue our hummingbird research efficiently and effectively.
So, with that in mind I present a few of SEAR’s 2024 numbers…
- 2100 bands cut and formed in early April and May.
- 24 FANTASTIC volunteers who help to make all this possible!
- 14 WONDERFUL hummer host families who open up their homes and share their birds with us each summer.
- 35 total banding days from July to early September.
- 6 Hummingbird festivals.
- ~4500 smiling and educated festival guests.
- 155 hummingbird adoptions to benefit environmental education.
- 12 hummingbird presentations.
- 1954 newly banded ruby-throated hummingbirds.
- 224 recaptured hummingbirds.
- 2 – 8 years old ruby-throated hummingbirds recaptured. A male originally banded on 7/14/2017 as an adult and a female originally banded on 8/14/2017 as an adult as well. Both born in 2016 or earlier..
- 2 western hummingbird reports in August
- 80 hours of data entry.
- 2300+ miles driven.
- 10-year Anniversary of Southeastern Avian Research. Whoo-hoo!
- 17,903 hummingbirds banded since 2014….
- And, countless hours of new discoveries and learning!
Finally, MANY THANKS to all those who support us, encourage us, assist us, share information about us, travel with us and love hummingbirds as much we do. We couldn’t do what we do without YOU!
Cheers!
Cyndi
Happy 10th Anniversary!
2023-2024 Winter Hummingbird Report
The 2023-24 Winter Hummingbird season will conclud on March 15th. So far it has been a slower than normal season for winter hummingbirds in our permitted areas. We had a total of 9 sightings and were able to get 6 of those individuals banded. At this point we hypothesize that the continuing severe drought and fires out West are impacting all species including hummingbirds. We received reports from our western colleagues of many failed nests, and the early departure of many adults. Time will tell if this trend will continue. We’ll be watching closely.
The 3 sightings of the hummers that went ‘unbanded’ took place in Columbia, Germantown and Millington, Tennessee. All 3 of these birds were either one-day wonders or left before arrangements could be made to travel and band them. But thanks to photography we have their presence documented.
We were however able to band 6 winter hummers of three different species in 3 different states this season. In Tennessee we had an adult female Rufous in Madisonville, a very late juvenile female Ruby-throat in Clarksville and a SY male, Black-chinned hummingbird in Germantown. In Mississippi we banded a juvenile male Rufous and a juvenile male, Black-chinned hummer on the same day in Jackson. And finally, we banded a young female Rufous in Murray, Kentucky in early December.
Of note was our adventure in Germantown at the home of TOS member, Sarita Joshi where we banded the SY male Black-chinned. We visited her yard on January 6th and as the snow and ice began to set it a few days later, Sarita sent me a picture of a SECOND winter hummingbird which we confirmed was a female Selasphorus hummingbird, most likely rufous. Unfortunately, that bird was only seen and photographed on one day and weather conditions prohibited us form traveling back down there. But thanks to Sarita’s quick camera skills, we have pictures of both the rufous and the black-chinned hummingbirds feeding on the same feeder! Truly an exciting and first time happening for SEAR!
Please keep watching those feeders as migrants begin moving back to their breeding grounds. And as always, many thanks to everyone who maintained a feeder all winter and for those hosts who called and allowed us to come band their special guests. We couldn’t conduct our research without you.
Cheers!
Cyndi Routledge
Are jelly feeders safe if you feed hummingbirds?
As humans, we naturally want to provide for what we love including wild birds that visit our yards and bring us pleasure. Hummingbirds top that list. By now we hope you know the most important aspect of feeding wild creatures is to do it correctly as to not bring harm. In the case of hummingbirds, keep feeders clean, keep nectar fresh, never add red dyes or additives and make your own nectar using the recommended 4 parts water to 1 part cane sugar. Sugar water feeders have the potential of attracting orioles and once you’ve seen the bright yellow/orange of this beautiful bird you want to provide for it as well. Grape jelly and orange halves are the food of choice when it comes to feeding orioles. But is it safe to have jelly feeders in plain few if you’re trying to attract hummingbirds and feed them too?? This question has been proposed many times this spring, so I thought I’d address it here with a common-sense approach.
It is never a good idea to feed any wild animal artificial sugars or flavorings as it has the potential of making them ill. So before dishing up any jelly read the label. If it contains ANY artificial sweeteners or flavorings DO NOT to use it.
Additionally, it is best to use a feeder designed for orioles when putting our grape jelly and place them away from your hummingbird feeders. This will not stop hummingbirds from seeking them out because hummingbirds will be attracted to the jelly not only for the sweet treat but also the insects the jelly will attracts. It is important to hang them where you can watch and monitor them. Why? Well hummingbirds have weak feet and griping a slippery surface is difficult for them. If they inadvertently slip into unattended jelly it will result in grave consequences if you’re not watching and quickly rescue them.
A good rule is to NEVER use random dishes of jelly and the smaller the ‘lipped’ dish the better. A saucer of jelly may work for an oriole, but not for a hummingbird. Use common sense and always ask yourself, “is this container ‘safe’ for my hummers?” If the answer is no, or you don’t know, then don’t use it.
Instead, use fresh orange halves. They are a much safer choice. Orioles love them, they attract small insects which hummingbird love and you’ve all but eliminated the potential for a hummingbird disaster.
**Photo credit to Raptor Education Group and KUDOS for the great rescue and rehab!
Winter 2022-23 Hummingbird season recap….
2022 Ruby-throated hummingbird season recap….
The 2022 Ruby-throat migration season is coming to a close. The last of the hummingbirds are trickling through and will continue to do so for a few more weeks however our banding season has come to a close. It was a successful season because of our hosts and volunteers. I couldn’t do this work without each and every one of them.
Here’s a short summary of our season:
- We banded 2020 ‘new’ Ruby-throated hummingbirds at 25 hummer host locations, including repeat visits to 6 of them, from June 22nd thru September 14th.
- We recaptured 172 return ruby-throats from previous years, including THREE six-year-old females and TWELVE 3-year-old hummingbirds.
- We attended and did banding demonstrations at 6 hummingbird festivals in TN, KY and MS.
- I did 4 hummingbird presentations both in person and on Zoom.
- We traveled 3,549 miles and spent ~180 hours ‘in the field’.
- We had a crew of 9 wonderful regular volunteers, my fantastic SPAC crew and an assortment of willing and able hosts.
- We had a surprise visit from an adult male Allen’s Hummingbird at the home of Linda Fields on August 24th.
- We are taking part in a study about the affects of pesticides on hummingbirds and Dr. Lisa Tell from UC Davis Vet School in California visited with us in September and we collected the first feathers samples for this study.
- All records have been turned in to all reporting agencies.
- New bands have been ordered for next season and permit renewal applications have been filled out where needed. In other words, we’re already preparing for next season!
But before I get too ahead of myself, a reminder that winter hummingbird season is just around the corner. We hope you’ll consider keeping at least one feeder out this winter in hopes of getting one of those rare western hummingbirds. And if you do, we hope you’ll give us a call and allow us to come identify it and band it for our collaborative continuing winter hummingbird study. And speaking of…we had our first paper published on that very subject. Here’s a link if you’re so inclined to read it. https://tnbirds.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/29764-TOS-Migrant-Mar22-r4.pdf
Again, my sincere and most heartfelt THANKS to each of you. I am most grateful.
Cheers!
Cyndi
Southeastern Avian Research