SPEEDY RETURN
Hummingbirds migrate with an early spring into southeastern Pennsylvania
Here they come! Get your feeders ready.
Ruby-throated hummingbirds are making their way into southeastern Pennsylvania on their annual migration trek. Hummingbird Central recorded the first one, a male, stopped in Reading on April 15 at 4:45 p.m.
Hummingbird Central tracks the annual migration based on self-reports from bird watchers and can be found at https://bit. ly/3aPYQzq. Generally, the rubythroated hummingbirds, one of the most common species of hummingbirds east of the Mississippi, spends its winters in Central America, Mexico and Florida and migrates to eastern North America for the summer to breed.
Another one was spotted on April 19 in the Morgantown area.
“Looks like one of our regulars,” reported the observer.
Hummingbird Central does not publish addresses or names of those who share their observations.
Another early observer in Oxford, Chester County, saw one on April 16.
“Fleeting glimpse of a male rubythroat in the area where I always hang my feeders,” the birdwatcher reported. “Was confirmed an hour later (with feeders now up & filled).”
An observer in Broomall, Delaware County, reported to Hummingbird Central seeing a hummingbird come by three times on April 21.
On April 23, another rubythroated hummingbird caught an observer in Reading by surprise because it was still cold.
Their typical annual arrival in Pennsylvania is right around May 1, according to the Pennsylvania Game Commission. But in early springs, like this year’s, there are always a few brave souls that plunge north over the Mason-Dixon well before other more-cautious neotropical birds settle in to Penn’s Woods.
Given the hummingbird’s size, and its inability to store energy, it’s risky behavior. Sometimes cold fronts chase them south for a bit, but more often than not, they stick it out, the game commission said in a recent news release.
During migration, a hummingbird’s heart beats up to 1,260 times a minute, and its wings flap 15 to 80 times a second, according to Hummingbird Central. To support this high energy level, a hummingbird will typically gain 25-40% of its body weight before it starts migration in order to make the long trek over land and water.
Hummingbirds fly by day when nectar sources such as flowers are more abundant. Flying low allows the birds to see, and stop at, food supplies along the way, according to Hummingbird Central.
They are also experts at using tail winds to help reach their destination faster and help them to conserve energy and body fat. Research indicates a hummingbird can travel as much as 23 miles in one day.
The hummingbird’s arrival is tied to the availability of food: flower nectar, small insects and, of course, what many of them depend upon most, artificial feeders.
“A lot of hummingbirds return and immediately look for the feeder that they used in the past,” said Joe Kosack, a game commission education specialist. “Typically, they’re the males that will try to take over the feeder, terrorizing other males that approach it.
“Females, however, are welcomed company.”
Ruby-throated hummingbirds are bright emerald or golden-green on the back and crown, with graywhite underparts. Males have a brilliant iridescent red throat.
Pennsylvania is home to rubythroated hummingbirds. There are occasionally other species of hummers that come, mostly in fall, but they’re an exception to the rule.
Here are some tips for attracting and feeding hummingbirds:
• Having a feeder out earlier than others is one of the best ways to pull in early birds. But if you want to keep them, make sure you offer some natural sources of food. There are a large variety of ornamental plants that will attract hummers. They include coralbells, salvia, trumpeter vine, honeysuckle or other plants that offer tubular flowers. The birds also are fond of mimosa, but the invasive tree/shrub can be tough on native species.
• Feeders have become very popular because they’re inexpensive, readily accessible and a decorative way to dress up the porch. Once they attract birds, the hummers provide countless hours of entertainment and serve as great conversation starters.
• Buy a feeder with red components, if you don’t have flowers in your beds that will attract hummingbirds. If it fails to attract birds, move it near a bed with flowers already pulling in hummers. Once they start using the feeder, slowly move it back toward where you’d prefer to have it. Normally they’ll follow, unless there are other nearby feeders, or flower beds.
• Feeders should be filled with a solution that is one part granulated sugar and four parts water. To make it, heat measured cups of water, add the required sugar and let the mixture cool before filling your feeder reservoir. Fill it over the kitchen sink to avoid spilling sugar water in your home or on your porch; the homemade concoction will draw black ants. Store any unused feed mixture in the refrigerator until it’s needed. Commercial feed mixtures also are available, but making homemade nectar is far cheaper and doesn’t include red dye. There’s a lot of disagreement about whether red dye is harmful to hummers. So err on the side of caution. Besides, hummers usually come to almost any feeder offering fresh sugar water.
• If you hang a feeder, please recognize the responsibility that comes with its use. Your feeder should be cleaned at least once a week, using hot water, dishwashing liquid, a dishrag and bottlebrush. Then rinse the components and let them air-dry.
• Although feeders can be placed almost anywhere, when they’re hung in shaded locations, with nearby trees that provide perches for hummers to watch over the feeder, they tend to provide more action. If a location doesn’t work, move it until you find one that does. These feeders have proven themselves over the years.
If there are hummingbirds around, they will find them. But so might other animals. Ants, bees and wasps probably bother hummer feeders more than other animals. But raccoons and black bears also can be drawn to them. Statewide, it’s unlawful to intentionally feed bears. If one is coming to your feeder, take your feeder down.
If ants are bothering your feeder, spray insecticide on the approaches to and around the feeder’s hanger. Remove the feeder while doing this. Smear petroleum jelly on the string or wire suspending the feeder to make it tougher on ants.
Some homeowners try to dominate their neighborhood’s hummingbirds by hanging several — up to a half-dozen — feeders. And even though hummers will tolerate such arrangements, it doesn’t mean they’ll all stay there.
Males prefer their own territory and feeding locations.
So, if you have flower beds and a feeder with fresh sugar water, hummers will come, particularly after the first broods of the year fledge.