NEWS AND NOTES:  SUMMER 2005

 

2005 NEST REPORTS

A total of 5 Ruby-throated Nests were reported this year! Perhaps hummers had a good reproductive season. On May 28 Steve Hale reported to New Hampshire Birds that he had located a hummingbird nest in his yard in Barrington, NH. On June 3, I photographed the female sitting on the nest, which was about 50' high in a black birch tree on a downward sloping branch, in a forested area. She was most likely sitting on eggs, since she left the nest very infrequently, for only 2-3 minutes at most. She moved her head to and fro, as though on guard, and a bit of spider webbing could be seen on her bill. Thanks to Steve Hale for sharing this wonderful sight!

Photo: S. Stichter   Barrington, NH  6-03-05

A second nest report this season came from John Magill in Rhode Island, who observed a female on a nest in Scituate, RI, on May 22, 2005. And a third  report came from Rob Ranney; the nest he found was overhanging a driveway in Sandwich, MA. The photo below was taken on June 5, 2005:

 Photo: Chris Ranney, Sandwich, MA 6-05-05

Many hummer nests seem to be found overhanging driveways.  I believe this may be because hummers mistake the driveway for a body of water; traditionally nests are reported to occur near the water's edge. In another instance of this,  Mike Resch of Pepperell, MA, reported to Massbird on July 27 that he had found a nest in his yard overhanging the driveway, with a female sitting on eggs. It was the second one he had noticed this year; both were on oak branches about 15 feet off the ground. The first nest did not seem to be successful, since he saw no young, but the second nest fledged one juvenile. Mike said it was great fun watching how the juvenile's beak lengthened as it grew.

The fifth nest report came from Dottie Naventi of Tyringham, MA, who after much searching found an empty hummer nest in a tree in August. Other reports of hummers carrying lichens and other nesting material came from Barbara Howell in Wayland, MA, and Phil Brown on Plum Island, MA.

 

RUBY-THROATS DO INDEED FOLLOW SAPSUCKERS

Kathy Clayton reported on New Hampshire Birds that one of the highlights of her June 14, 2005,  trip climbing in the White Mountains was watching a Ruby-throated Hummingbird follow a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, and get sap from the holes it had drilled. I also observed this behavior in August 2004 in the Endless Mountains in Pennsylvania.

 

WILL A RUBY-THROATED HUMMINGBIRD SIT ON YOUR FINGER??

Mark Simmons recently moved to New Hampshire from Arizona, where he had quite a lot of experience with hummingbirds. But he didn't know whether Ruby-throats would be quite as tame as his old friends back home. Here's what he found:

 
"The rubies are more skittish than the AZ hummers. Perhaps this is due to the woefully short season that they spend with us each year. In AZ it was year round so they all got to know who you were real well.  Here are a couple of photos of a little fellow I called George. He was the first ruby that seemed to accept me up here. The quality is not very good ...they will at least give you an idea though.
I met George in the spring of '02 and can confirm that he was the first back to my yard in '03. I know this because he arrived, flew right up to me and sat for a drink as if he had been doing it all of his life. This is something that no unfamiliar bird would have ever done. It amazed me that such a tiny little guy could travel such a great distance and then return to the very spot he had left months before."
 
 

 

In his Arizona yard, Mark Simmons had on average 15-20 hummers of different species--Black-chinned, Anna's, Costa's---pretty much all day, every day. Well,  New England isn't quite like that...we'll just have to be happy with our wonderful little Ruby-throats!

 

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page updated 11-27-05

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