Farewell until next year my garden beauties!

THE WILD SIDE

By Maria de Bruyn
Columnist

Autumn has arrived, heralding the upcoming migratory departure of our ruby-throated hummingbirds. The adult birds, who came to spend the summer season in my yard in April, departed a couple of weeks ago. Some immature offspring and other traveling visitors still frequent my feeders and garden flowers. To celebrate their 2024 residency, I’d like to share with you a few portraits and reminders of their remarkable abilities.

Ruby-throated hummers — our region’s only resident hummingbird species — arrive in the Triangle from their winter abodes down south. Some accomplish a 500-mile flight leg over the Gulf of Mexico in one day without stopping until they reach the southern US coastal areas. These tiny birds (about the size of a peanut and weight of a dime) have pectoral muscles that makeup 30 percent of their body weight — a higher percentage than for birds of other groups.

Top left: adult male taking off quickly. Top middle and right: younger males flying to confront rivals. Bottom left: rare view of a hummer’s undertail coverts (transition from belly to tail feathers). Bottom right: a fully mature male ruby-throated hummingbird. All photos by ©Maria de Bruyn.

The humerus bones in their wings are quite strong and short, a feature that helps stabilize their complicated flight patterns. They can zoom around with great speed and then suddenly stop and hang almost motionless in midair.

Rotating their wings almost 180 degrees in a horizontal figure-8 pattern — with up to 50-53 beats per second — these hummers can move up. down, sideways, forward and backward. People can hear their wings in motion, which make a humming sound — hence the name given to the species. Sometimes it is not possible for us to really see those wings in motion because they just look like a blur to our eyes (or the camera).

Banding research has shown the birds are likely to return to the area where they hatched. Ruby-throated hummingbirds follow the same migration routes yearly and even use the same stopover points during their travels on almost the same date each year! The oldest known ruby-throated hummer was a female who was banded and recaptured in West Virginia when she was more than 9 years old.

Top first and second photos: views of hummers balancing on one foot. Top third photo: a younger hummer fluffing feathers to dry off. Top right photo: hummer spreading feathers to get thoroughly wet during a rain shower. Bottom left: male hummer drying feathers after a shower; Bottom center: hummer spreading wings to catch raindrops. Bottom right: hummer flying exuberantly after drying off from rain. All photos by ©Maria de Bruyn.

These tiny avians do not have feet that enable them to walk or hop; they can only clutch onto perches or scoot sideways. They can stand one-footed on a twig or object, however, enabling them to use the other foot for scratching and grooming, along with their lengthy beak. When we began having frequent rain showers during the latter part of summer and early autumn, the birds often took time to fluff their feathers and rotate their bodies to get thoroughly wet so they could keep their wings and bodies in good flying condition.

In 2022, I had the good fortune to witness a hummer raising her young and encouraging them to fledge. This year, I only saw young hummers when they began coming to my nectar feeders. This was somewhat of a challenge for them as the resident male was guarding the food sources zealously since my nectar-bearing plants were not yet blooming. The “head honcho” male perched on twigs and scanned the area continuously — when he caught sight of another hummer coming in for a drink, he zipped off after them.

Each day the ruby-throats may eat up to twice or thrice their body weight. Besides flower nectar and sugar water, they dine on tree sap and numerous insects. Seeing them go after tiny gnats and other flying insects is fun. They must be quick to snatch bugs out of the air with their long beaks. If a couple hummers are feeding in the same area, you might be able to hear their high-pitched squeaking sounds as they try to drive away rivals.

male ruby-throated hummingbird extending his tongue; sometimes they do this five or six times in succession. Right: hummer chasing and catching small flying insects. Both photos by ©Maria de Bruyn.

When my garden flowers began blooming more profusely, the hummers decreased their nectar feeder visits to enjoy the meals provided by plants such as blue-black sage, hot-lips sage, jewelweed, and cardinal flowers. In my yard, they were also quite partial to perennial lantana plants. At the Cane Creek Reservoir, I saw a half-dozen hummers visiting the abundant jewelweed blossoms.

The ruby-throated hummers favor tubular flowers not only because they accommodate their beaks and tongues so well. It is also because the bees cannot reach the nectar and pollen within the tubes. The birds then have a lot of nectar at their disposal because they don’t need to compete with the bees for it at these feeding sites.

Top right and left: ruby-throated hummingbirds enjoying nectar from jewelweed flowers. Bottom left: hummer getting ready to obtain nectar from perennial lantana. Bottom right: hummer using the advantage of a long beak and tongue to get nectar before the bees do so from a still closed bloom. All photos by ©Maria de Bruyn.

Another interesting fact about these energetic avian visitors is that their heart rate can get up to an astounding 1,200 beats per minute when they are highly active. When they feel calmer and are resting, their heart rate decreases to about 600 beats per minute, still an extremely fast tempo compared to a human’s resting heart rate of about 72 beats per minute.

Now that migration is underway, I’ve noticed that the visiting hummers are not as fixated on chasing away “rivals” from nectar feeders and blooms. A pursuit takes place now and again but sometimes they even perch within a few feet from one another as they take a little rest. Perhaps this is a way of starting to conserve energy for their upcoming journeys southwards. I do know that their presence is a boon for my own heart rate as I enjoy relaxing while watching their antics. I’ll miss the ruby throats when the last ones leave but look forward to seeing their small winter replacements — the ruby- and yellow-crowned kinglets.

Maria de Bruyn participates in nature-oriented citizen science projects and volunteers for the Orange County Senior Center and non-profit groups removing invasive vegetation and planting native plants. See more of her photos on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/bruynmariade/) and in blogs at https://mybeautifulworldblog.com.

This reporter can be reached at Info@TheLocalReporter.press