A Rufus Hummingbird banded in the backyard of a bird bandier in Tallahassee, Florida on January 13, 2010 stayed around for a few weeks then disappeared. When it was seen again on June 28, 2010 to the astonishment of everyone. It was captured in a bander’s net in Chehega Bay, Alaska – more than 3,500 miles from Tallahassee, Florida. This distance is a new record for the migration distance by a hummingbird. It not uncommon for humming birds to fly across the Gulf of Mexico from South America to the U.S. gulf coast during migration. The rufus hummingbirds are found in the mountains in the fall, and lowlands in the spring. Rarely in the fall in the east and accidental in the spring. Rare on the Gulf coast in the fall and winter. So this is really an unbelievable story regarding this astonishing record.
Written by Jack Kidd.

Hummingbirds found only in the Western Hemisphere from Southeastern Alaska , the Maritime of Canada as far south as southern Chile. There are approximately 350 species of hummingbirds with 320 species found in the tropics. Within the family of hummingbirds is found the smallest bird in the world, the Bee Hummingbird of Cuba at 2.17 inches (5.5 cm) and weight 1.95gm (0.07 oz). Hummingbirds range in size from 2 inches to 8 inches.

Their rapid wing beat is so fast,  that one only sees a blur at about 50 beats per second,  is how the hummingbird got its name.  The size of the bird determines rate of the wing beat. The largest, the Giant Hummingbird, has a wing beat rate of 10-15 times per second. The fastest recorded rate was about 80 times per second, on a tiny Amethyst Woodstar, and the slightly smaller Bee Hummingbird – the world’s smallest bird – may have an even faster rate. The flexibility of their wings at the shoulder, but inflexible at the wrist, this enables them to fly in many different directions. They can fly right, left, up, down, backwards and even upside down. To move away from the flowers on which they feed hummingbirds fly backwards and are the only bird able to fly backwards. Most birds get their flight power from the down stroke only, hummingbirds also have strength on the up-stroke. Though they fly very fast, they can suddenly stop and make a soft landing. They are so light they do not build up much momentum. Hummingbirds have poorly developed feet, so that although they are able to perch and will do so when feeding or resting, because they are unable to walk on a  branch, they fly.  Hummingbirds lift from perches without pushing off; they rise entirely on their own power, flapping their wings at almost full speed before lifting off. Hummingbirds sleep perched on branches with their neck retracted and their head forward, the bill pointed up at a sharp angle, and the feathers fluffed.

It is believed that hummingbirds live for only 3 to 4 years. They have a fast heartbeat with a rate of 1260 beats per minute having been measured in a Blue-throated Hummingbird. In torpid hummingbirds, the heart rate can drop to 50-180 per minute. Their fast heart rate and rapid wing motion require them to feed regularly throughout the day. It is reported that they must feed every 10 minutes and they may consume 2/3 of their body weight in a single day. A major part of a hummingbird’s diet is the nectar they obtain from flowers and their bills are perfectly adapted to the various types of flowers that they feed on. Some hummingbirds have especially curved or elongated bills that allow them to feed on special flowers,  as  the White-tipped Sicklebill hummingbird whose downward curving bill allows it to draw nectar from heliconias. The Ruby-Topaz Hummingbird has a short and slightly curved bill that is suited to feeding on the flowers of the ixora shrub. The Blue-tailed Emerald has a short bill that is suited for feeding on the Hibiscus flower. The Copper-rumped Hummingbird has a straight long bill that allows it to feed on medium sized tube shaped flowers such as the allamanda. In feeding, hummingbirds use their tongue to lap the nectar in a similar manner to cats lapping milk. Their tongue can extend a distance equal to their beak length. As they feed hummingbirds accidentally collect pollen and as they move from flower to flower, they help the flowers to reproduce.

Sense hummingbirds have little or no sense of smell, so color is important to a hummingbird’s search process for locating flowers containing nectar. While they will visit any flower that has sufficient nectar they prefer flowers that are red to orange in color. It is believed that there are several reasons for this color preference. Red flowers standout in a green background and so are more easily seen by the hummingbird. It is also believed that because hummingbirds compete with insects for nectar they choose flowers that are less likely to be visited by insects. Most insects do not see well at the red end of the color spectrum and so may not visit red flowers while hummingbirds see the full visible spectrum.

Hummingbirds also need protein in order to build muscles, so they eat insects. They prefer to feed on small spiders and slow-flying insects such as gnats, small wasps and leafhoppers, which are rather buoyant in air and easy to catch. They also probe the bark and foliage for insects such as aphids, spiders, caterpillars and insect eggs. It is believed that up to one-half of their diet is made up of small insects. Hummingbirds are capable of living for extended periods without nectar as a component of their diet. They can quickly convert fat reserves and recently ingested insects to energy when deprived of nectar. Hummingbirds compete for nectar and insects and so they develop territories, which they guard aggressively. They will fight with other hummingbirds that enter their territory but serious harm is seldom inflicted during these fights. Also when food sources are scarce they fight to protect their source.

Most hummingbirds are green except hermits, which are mainly brown, and are known for the iridescence. These brilliant, iridescent colors of the hummingbird plumage are caused by the refraction of incident light by the structures of certain feathers. These structures split light into its component colors, and only certain frequencies are refracted back to the viewer. The brown color in some hummingbirds is the result however of pigmentation. Hummingbirds groom themselves with their bills and claws, using oil from a gland near their tail. They also use their claws like a comb to groom their heads and necks. They sunbathe positioning their breast towards the sun and fluffing out, extending their neck and spreading their tail. Hummingbirds also take water baths using the water in shallow pools or cupped leaves. They flutter their wings or pull them straight back while lifting and spreading their tail; they dip their chins and bellies into the water. At times they can be seen sitting on a bare branch allowing the rain to soak through to their skin. After bathing they will preen and dry their feathers.

Hummingbirds build cup shaped nests, however hermits build long hanging nests usually attached to foliage. Male hummingbirds do not contribute to the building of nests or the care of young. All feeding is therefore left to the female. When feeding the female perches on the side of the nest, arches her back, stretches her neck, lifts her head, and holds her bill down to regurgitate nectar and half-digested insects to her babies. Her throat swells and she pumps her beak like a sewing needle.

Although various larger birds, snakes, and mammals raid hummingbird nests for eggs and chicks, this is not a major cause of death.

By Jack Kidd.

/td>

Our ticket to one of the wonders of nature is to be a birder or bird watcher.  It can be a stress reliever, fun and educational.  An activity that the whole family can partake.

When spring arrives it is time for hummingbirds in your back yard.  So get ready.

The gulf states and south get the earliest hummingbirds ,  while those living in the Midwest, Northeast and Northwest  are still awaiting the first hummingbird of spring to arrive.

In Texas, I start looking for hummingbirds at the end of March and early April.  That is when I get my hummingbird feeder ready.

Many small birds,  including the hummers migrate at night.  The reason is unknown unless it is a time to avoid predators or taking advantage of the cool air or favorable wind currents.  As the time comes to migrate something goes off in their brain to prepare for their journey.  They start staying up more at night as to prepare them for the up and coming migration.

In addition they start putting on weight because they need a lot of stamina for their arduous journey.  Their food intake is increased to such an extent that they may double their weight.  They will eat their their weight in 24 hrs.  In addition to nectar,  they eat small insects,  spiders, bugs and gnats

As springs approaches,  something in their instinct urges them to go north.  Then in late February or early March they start on their journey across the Gulf of Mexico usually at dusk or darkness.  Each hummer will fly alone across the vast Gulf of Mexico.  Weighing only a few ounces they ride the wind currents.  As they fly they burn up a lot of their stored fat.  If the weight they have earlier gained holds out,  they will make the 500 mile trip across the gulf, which takes over 18 hours.  They will make it to the gulf states where they rest for a while.  Some will stay and find a mate and raise a family while others after a time to build up fat again, they will depart for other areas in the U.S.

This is the time to put your feeders out and get ready for their arrival.  Nothing can be more fun than to watch hummingbirds around a feeder in the early mornings and late afternoons  when the congregate to feed on the flowers in your yard of your feeder.  There can be fighting between males for territorial rights or over female hummers.  Often a male will try to fight every other male in the territory until they call a truce and decide to live together and share the same area.

This is what makes watching hummingbirds so much fun to watch.  Just relax and enjoy them!
By Jack Kidd: for more information see: birdwatchingforyou.com

Do you know what makes the humming sound in hummingbirds? Hummingbirds notoriously have a rapid wing-beat rate, and it is its fast wing-beat rate that generates the hum for which the hummingbird is named.
High Metabolism Rate: Hummingbirds have a very high metabolism rate, therefore require large amounts of nutrition daily.The largest of hummingbirds, the Giant Hummingbird (Patagona gigas), grow to be about 24g and have an average wing-beat rate of 8-10 beats per second. Mid-sized hummingbirds, the Rufous Hummingbird (Selasphorus rufus), grow to weigh about 3g and beat their wings at a rate of 20-25 beats per second. The smallest species of hummingbirds, the Bee Hummingbird (Mellisuga helenae), only grow to approximately 1.8g, and yet they beat their wings at about 70 beats per second. One might wonder how a hummingbird could generate such an incredibly fast wing-beat rate, but this kind of metabolism is very similar to the energy derived by giving a three-year-old child a can of Mountain Dew to drink. The high sugar-intake taken by the child creates a situation where the child seems to bounce off the walls. Well, the same thing happens with the hummingbird too.

Each day, hummingbirds of all species consume more than the equivalent of their own body weight in nectar, which has an average sugar content of 25%. This high daily sugar-intake results in an extremely high metabolism rate for these tiny birds – the highest in all of the animal kingdom. According to a 2001 book, “The Birds of Ecuador volume 2 – Field Guide”, written by Robert S. Ridgely and Paul G. Greenfield, a hummingbirds’ heart beat has been measured as high as 1260 beats per minute!
Interestingly, other organisms that metabolize at a rate equal to the hummingbird typically have a very short-lifespan. But, hummingbirds have lived in captivity for up to 17 years.

Flower Pollination
It has been estimated that the average hummingbird will visit 100 flowers per day, pollinating many flowers as they go. But with most flower species, the hummingbird has to compete directly with bees and wasps for access to the nectar.
Interestingly, bees and hummingbirds tend to avoid flowers that have a sugar-ratio in the range of 15%, which is average for most flowers. Instead, bees and hummingbirds tend to only pollinate flowers that have the higher 25% sugar content in the nectar.
Most of the flowers that hummingbirds pollinate are red, bright pink and orange in color. An interesting twist in this story is that hummingbirds can view wavelengths into the near ultra-violet. Insect-pollinated flowers tend to reflect certain wavelengths, which tip off the insects that those flowers are inviting the insects to visit. But the flower species that hummingbirds typically pollinate do not reflect the same wavelengths as other flower species do, which in effects makes those flowers invisible to passing insects.
Of course, while the hummingbirds need to visit flowers to obtain the sugars they need to properly metabolize energy for flight, nectar does not provide enough nutrients to ensure good health. Hummingbirds meet their dietary needs for protein, amino acids, vitamins, minerals, etc. by preying on insects and spiders, especially when they are feeding young.

Range Of The Species
Until recently, it was believed that hummingbirds were strictly an American bird, ranging from Canada to the southernmost tip of South America. But in 2004, Dr. Gerald Mayr, a paleornithologist at the famed Senckenberg museum in Germany, found a 30-million year old hummingbird fossil that had been unearthed in a dig near Heidelberg, Germany.
The majority of the 325-340 species of hummingbirds reside in warm tropical areas of Central and South America. But those species that can be found on the southern tip of South America and those species that take up residence in North America are typically migratory birds.
While hummingbirds are typically at rest, except when feeding, hummingbirds are known to cross great bodies of water, including the Gulf of Mexico. That is the reason why many hummingbird species can also be found in many Caribbean islands.
Common North American Species
Although 17 hummingbird species have been known to nest in North America, only a few are considered common. Most frequently seen in North America are the Ruby-throated Hummingbird, the Black-chinned Hummingbird, the Rufous Hummingbird, the Anna’s Hummingbird, the Broad-tailed hummingbird, and the Calliope hummingbird. The Ruby-throated Hummingbird is most frequently found east of the Mississippi River. The Black-chinned Hummingbird is most often found in the western United States. The Rufous Hummingbird is found most often in the Northwest all the way to Alaska. The Anna’s Hummingbird is common from southern California to southern Arizona and north to southwestern British Columbia. The Broad-tailed hummingbird is common in the spring and summer in higher elevations from Arizona north to the Canadian border. And the Calliope hummingbird is found through-out the west except for the Southwest and the Pacific Coast.
Attracting Hummingbirds To Your Garden
In order to attract hummingbirds to your garden you must provide them the nectar producing flowers that they desire. There are quite a variety of blooming plants and you will want ones specific to where you live so do a little research for “hummingbird flowers” in your area and most likely your local nursery will offer them. As a final touch add a couple of pretty hummingbird feeders and you are set.
Interestingly, the combination of people planting winter flower gardens and providing hummingbird feeders has encouraged more hummingbirds to make North America their year-around homes in the temperate areas along the Gulf and Pacific coasts.
You will want to be very selective when picking a hummingbird feeder as many models simply do not do this beautiful bird justice. The fact is that many hummingbird feeders force the hummingbirds to compete with bees, wasps, ants, orioles, woodpeckers, and other animals for access to the sugar water. Bees, wasps and ants can get trapped in some types of feeders and die inside which of course ruins the nectar.
Protecting The Health Of Your Hummingbirds
Studies have shown the best formula for sugar water to be one cup of “white granulated sugar only” to four cups of water, mixed and placed into the feeder. The feeder should be emptied and washed with dish soap and hot water at least once per week, to prevent harmful bacteria build-up or soured sugar water.
For the health of your neighborhood hummingbirds, you should never use any raw sugars, brown sugar, powdered sugar, honey, or any additives in your sugar water mix. All contain other elements that will be to the detriment of any hummingbirds consuming these products.
Commercial “hummingbird food” products have not been studied at length, but early studies with laboratory animals indicate that preservatives, artificial flavors, and food coloring cause disease and premature mortality, when it is consumed in large amounts. So, it is strongly recommended that you do not add red food coloring to your sugar water mix. Scientists also recommend that you do not need to buy any “hummingbird food” that has “additional nutrients” in it, because hummingbirds get all of the nutrients that they need in the insects that they eat.
Selecting A Good Hummingbird Feeder
There are a number of companies providing hummingbird feeders in the marketplace. But for the benefit of your neighborhood birds, you should try to keep an eye to finding a feeder that has certain features and benefits.

Remember, your local birds are competing with bees, wasps and ants for access to the food in your feeder. So, it is advantageous when you can find a feeder that is designed to restrict these insects from gaining access to the sugar water mix.
Most feeders have some red or orange coloration’s, because these colors attract hummingbirds. But, make sure that the feeders you buy do not have any yellow parts on the feeder itself, because bees are attracted to the color yellow. Even if you can block the bees from gaining access to the feeder, the yellow will attract the bees to the feeder, and the bees will frequently drive away the hummingbirds.
Make sure that any feeder you own does not leak sugar water onto the ground or the outside of the unit, because once again, you should desire to keep bees, wasps and other pests away from your feeders.
The point of a feeder is to attract the right kind of visitors, not the wrong kinds. If your hummingbird feeder attracts the wrong kind of visitor, the birds will have their feeding experience ruined, and you may be finding yourself wrestling with too many pests in your environment too.
The hummingbird nest is about the size of a 50 cent piece and usually covered with lichens or other types of vegetation that makes it blend into the limb it is built on making
it almost impossible to find. The female will lay eggs in the nest and both parents will incubate the eggs which will hatch in about 2 weeks. The eggs are about the size if a black-eyed pea. Both parents will feed the babies and they will fledged in about 12-14 days. What I have described is the  ruby-throated humming bird, others many differ.