Heavy Rains in May and June Affect Hummingbirds
Dottie Trains her Hummingbirds
Hummingbird Banding in Massachusetts
HEAVY RAINS IN MAY AND JUNE AFFECT HUMMINGBIRDS
Several observers commented that during the prolonged and heavy rains in New England this spring, hummingbirds were especially dependent on feeders. The rains coincided with the arrival period for hummers, and continued in many areas throughout the mating and nest-building periods. During the rains, foraging was poor for nectar and insects. Flower blooming was delayed or reduced. The resulting crowds at the feeders were observed particularly in Vermont during the first two weeks of June, soon after many females had arrived. For example, on June 4 Bruce Flewelling wrote to VTBirds that "There were five hummingbirds (all female), feeding on one feeder at once! Quite a sight." at his home in Rochester, VT. On June 5 Pat Folsom in Waitsfield VT reported twelve visible at once in her yard, and that every port on her feeders was occupied. On June 6, Ruth Stewart of East Dorset, VT, reported 3 females feeding, and then on June 10 and 11 she reported a "hummer frenzy" in her yard, with 6-7 birds at two feeders. On June 11, Sue Wetmore also reported unusual numbers of hummers at her feeders in Brandon, VT.
For a couple of days, Pat Folsom was boiling up two cups of sugar water a day, because hummers were emptying the feeder each day! A few of Pat’s birds (again, all female) can be seen in these photos; the first one gives a sense of their urgency as they lined up at the feeder in the rain.
Hummer nest building takes about 5 days, and the female begins the nest right after mating, usually in May in our area. Incubation of eggs takes 14 to 16 days. It takes 22 days for a newly hatched bird to mature enough to successfully fledge. All nest building and child-rearing is done by the female in this species. Ruby-throats in New England may re-nest a second time, especially if the first nest fails for any reason.
New England Hummers has received the following nest reports so far this year:
1) On May 18, Rob Ranney reported a female was on a nest in Sandwich, MA, in the same place on the same maple tree branch where his brother Chris Ranney had photographed her last year! See the photo at News and Notes Summer 2005.
2) On May 27, Barb Horton of Derry, NH, found a hummer nest in a maple in the woods along a unused railroad track in Windham, NH. The photo below shows the general habitat, with the female on nest barely visible in the center. Barb was concerned that the grading and paving of this section of the trail by a Rails to Trails group might disturb the nesting, but apparently it did not.
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3) On May 21 Ann Gurka reported a female building a nest on the grounds of the Brooks Estate in Medford, MA. There were actually two nests at this location, both near a pond. Females were seen by reliable observers at both nests during the same time period, but little is known about the second nest. For the first nest, Phil Brown has posted photos of the female on eggs on 6/11, and feeding a nestling on 6/18, but both he and Ann Gurka reported that the nest was empty on June 26 and appeared abandoned. Since a newly hatched bird requires three weeks to mature, observers suggested that this one must not have survived, possibly due to the heavy rains on June 23. However, on July 4 Eric Smith observed a very wary female still coming to the nest and putting her beak into it several times. His photos of this are at http://esmith.marx7.org/galleries/hummingbird%5Fnest%5Fbrooks/ But then, on Sunday July 9 Linda Ferraresso observed this nest from 7 to 9 am, and on Monday July 10 Phil Brown observed it from 7 - 10 am; neither of them saw any sign of the female or a nestling. Observers will keep checking, but a successful re-nest does not seem likely at this point.
4) On May 26 Phil Brown found a female building a nest in Boxford, MA at Crooked Pond. However, this nest was abandoned by June 5, again, possibly due to the heavy rains although nest predation is always a possibility as well.
5) A female hummingbird on a nest was discovered at the Ipswich River Wildlife Sanctuary in Topsfield, MA, on June 10 by a group from the Brookline Bird Club doing a Breeding Bird Survey. The bird was photographed by Phil Brown on eggs on June 11, and with two nestlings on June 18 and June 25. This nesting appears to have been successful!
6) A nest was found in Little Compton, RI, by Geoff Dennis. This photo of the two nestlings was taken on 7/13/06. Geoff believes they both fledged soon after that, probably on 7/14/06.
7) A somewhat later nesting than the Topsfield and Boxford nests, but also in Essex County, was documented by Joseph Sutherland in his yard in Byfield, MA. This could have been a second nesting attempt; in any event, it was successful, fledging two chicks!! A sequence of excellent photos documenting the progression of the nesting has been posted by Joe Sutherland at http://sutherlandbirds.com/HBnest2006.html On July 14, Joe first noticed nestbuilding activity. Photos taken 7/14, 7/20 and 7/21 show the female sitting on the nest. Hatching apparently took place about August 1, since feeding was first noticed and documented on August 2. Two chicks were hatched, and they fledged on August 22 and August 24. Thanks to Joe Sutherland for sharing this great series of photos.
Dottie Naventi, of Goose Pond in Tyringham, MA, is no stranger to large numbers of hummingbirds. She maintains five to seven freshly cleaned feeders at her lakeside home, and her May Population Count this year was ten birds -- just the normal number in her yard! This June she decided to see how close she could get to the little buzzers. She hasn't had one sit on her finger --yet-- but they've come pretty close. At one point, she had six buzzing around as she held the feeder below.
Both male and female Ruby-throats , as well as other species of hummingbirds, have a white spot behind each eye. If you can get a good close-up view of the birds at your feeders, for example through a scope, you can discern variations in the size and shape of the eye-spot which can be used to differentiate individual birds. For a series of photos showing eyespot variations in three different female hummers and two different males, see Phil Brown’s website at www.nebirdsplus.org/RTHummerNest_06.htm
RUBY-THROAT BANDING CONTINUES IN MASSACHUSETTS
Anthony Hill, licensed hummingbird bander living in South Hadley, MA, continued his banding and study work this year. In his yard through the end of May he had banded 24 new Ruby-throat arrivals, and 10 returns from last year. Several of the returnees, including one of his first three arrivals on May 6, were birds he had banded as "hatch-year" last summer, that is, they were born in 2005. When a bander bands a "hatch-year" or "known-age" bird, and the bird is later re-captured or the band number seen again elsewhere, the information is an important contribution to studies of bird longevity.
For an end-of-season report on Anthony Hill's 2006 RTHU banding, click on New England Hummers News-Notes Fall 2006.
page updated 11/18/06