Guest Blog
My Obsession with Hummingbirds
By Fran Tall
I’m obsessed with hummingbirds. I’ve always been fascinated with them, but this summer I am obsessed.
Several years ago, I moved into a townhouse in Laurel with a comfortable deck backed by woods. I hung my wind chimes, a couple of hanging flower baskets and a hummingbird feeder. That first summer I attracted a couple of hummingbirds. What joy!
The following summer I replaced the hanging flower baskets and hung my hummingbird feeder close to a basket of red flowers, because I read that these tiny birds are attracted to red, and I anxiously waited for the first sighting. The hummers did not disappoint. During my second summer as a workforce retiree and part-time hummingbird observer, I enjoyed watching lots of feeder visits from those wonderful arial acrobats. I soared with them as they chased each other around behind my house, zipping after each other, dipping and diving. My husband joined me on my back deck vigils, and we observed that the hummingbirds’ markings and coloring varied, and originally thought that there were different species in our hummingbird community. We were wrong. Although there are about 360 species found between Alaska and Argentina, the Ruby-throated Hummingbird is the only type to frequent the U.S. East Coast. The colors of the juvenile hummers are muted brownish-green and become more defined as they mature. The adult females are iridescent green outlined in black, with white chins and bellies. The males are similar, but with absolutely beautiful red bibs.
As time went on, the hummingbird population behind my house increased. But this summer, oh my! The hummingbird carnival started early and just kept growing as the summer advanced. There were usually 3 and 4 females and juveniles dining at my feeder at the same time by early July. I was refilling the feeder with nectar every day. Since hummingbirds are very territorial, we were surprised and delighted watching these feeding frenzies. It was so much fun listing to their high-pitched chirps; they sounded like they were gossiping. We hoped they were having as much fun as we were watching their acrobatic antics. We seldom saw a male feeding, that is until the second week in August. A majestic male, gleaming green and white, with a beautiful ruby bib, began perching on the rod-iron hook that held our feeder. He had claimed it as his own and refused to allow any other bird to feed. During the next several days, when he wasn’t drinking his nectar, he was perched above the feeder or on a near-by branch guarding his food and chasing away intruders. And then he was gone. In mid-August he began his journey south. It’s now the last week in August and we still have several female hummingbirds drinking the nectar I provide, but within a week or so they, too, will start their arduous journey to south Texas and Louisiana. There they will gorge themselves until they double their weight. On a mid-September evening, they will begin their migration to their winter habitats. Most of them will fly across the Gulf of Mexico! I need to repeat that, because I can hardly believe it. These tiniest of the warm-blooded animals, who during their waking hours eat every 15 minutes, will fly across the Gulf of Mexico. I am so worried about my friends.
By the time you read this, my feathered friends will be zipping along in Central and South America, seeking food to replenish the energy they expended during their migration. While they are in their winter habitat, my husband and I will be staying warm snuggling with our 2 dogs in front of the fireplace, waiting for spring and our hummingbirds to return. In early spring I will begin to monitor their progress on maps provided on hummingbird watch sites, as they begin their migration to their favorite breeding territories in North America. We’ll be ready for them, because next year we will hang two feeders!
Since retirement, Fran Tall has been able to spend more time doing things that make her happy. Her joyful activities include sitting on her back deck watching wildlife, feeding hummingbirds and allowing swallowtail caterpillars to devour her parsley. (Video above provided by Fran Tall.)