Hummingbirds
Beating A Path Back To The Area
By
Scott Shalaway
PITTSBURGH, PA--These two
questions dominate my mail this time of year."When
will my hummingbirds return?" and "When should I
put up my nectar feeder?"
The
return of Ruby-throated Hummingbirds punctuates
the arrival of spring with an exclamation point.
If a feeder isn't hanging where it was last year,
the first returnee hovers at that spot until a
feeder is hung. His message is clear: "Where's my
feeder?" (A
hummingbird flies into a Hibiscus plant to feed on
the flower's nectar by Joe Barrera,
AP)
My
earliest record for a hummingbird is April 22, so
I try to have a feeder up by the 15th, just in
case. But this year we might see a new record for
an early bird. According to a web site that relies
on volunteers to report hummingbird sightings --
www.hummingbird.net/map.html -- Ruby-throats are
ahead of schedule. The first appeared in Texas and
Florida in early March.By April 5, hummers had
been spotted in northern Missouri, central
Illinois and Indiana, southwest Ohio and southeast
Pennsylvania. If mild weather continues, I expect
Ruby-throats on my porch by the end of the week.
So it's time to unpack and rinse the feeders, and
fill them with nectar.
The
recipe for hummingbird nectar (and orioles, too)
is simple: Mix one part table sugar with four
parts boiling water, cool and refrigerate. Do not
use honey. It can harm or even kill hummers. Red
dye is unnecessary because nectar feeders are red,
and that's the color that catches hummers'
attention. If
you're offering nectar for the first time, enhance
the feeder's conspicuousness by tying an 18-inch
length of red ribbon to the Read On
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Is
Your Yard Attractive To Wildlife?
By
Tammy Bould
GALESBURG, IL--For those who
don't have the time or money for a fancy vacation,
turning the back yard into a wildlife habitat can
be a relaxing way to enjoy a summer
evening.
Butterfly
gardens are growing in popularity, said Chris
Hilgert, a University of Illinois Extension
horticulture educator. They are relatively
inexpensive, do not take up a lot of space and
because most of the plants are flowering, the
gardens are attractive.
To
attract butterflies, their specific food sources
must be available, not only for the adults, but
also for their larva. For example, Monarch
Butterflies will lay their eggs on just a few
plants. Milkweed is one of their favorites and the
caterpillars feed on milkweed. The Monarch
caterpillar will not chew up the leaves on other
trees and shrubs unless they are one Read On |
Check Out the
Eagle Cam
SHEPHARDSTOWN, WV--The
Bald Eagles first showed up during the winter of
2002-03 at the National Conservation Training
Center near here.
They started
working on a nest at that time, but only managed
to gather a few sticks. They returned to the nest
in the fall of 2003, began working on the nest in
earnest. They had a large nest built by January of
2004. They laid the first egg on Valentine's Day
and two eaglets were hatched by the first day of
spring. Both eaglets survived and fledged in early
June. (Bald Eagle by Momatiuk/Eastcott/Minden)
The adults returned in
November of 2004. They spent two months making
repairs to the nest and exhibiting breeding
behavior. The first egg was laid on February 15,
2005, and one eaglet hatched in late March. It
survived and fledged in mid-June. The eagles are
back for their third year. They arrived in
November of 2005 and began nest repairs and
breeding behavior. The first egg was laid on
Read On
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American Wildlife
Blog
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The beauty of the blog is that you receive
articles as soon as they are posted by our
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can respond by clicking on "Comments" at
the end of each article. And, the new resource of
information is searchable, so you can find what
interests you the most. Here's a brief summary of
the latest articles:
Don't Plant Butterfly
Bushes
Marcy
Damon of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation says she
read where one of our readers suggested planting
butterfly bushes. "I just wanted to mention that
Buddleia (butterfly bush) is becoming an invasive
plant and should not be planted at all. There are
many other natives that are as attractive to
butterflies. I am attaching a list that Sara
Tangren gave me that you should feel free to use
in your publications:" Read
On
Songbirds Tuning Up For
Spring
The
anatomy of bird song is a marvel. Birds
produce sound in their syrinx, an organ that works
like the human vocal cords, only better, says
Barbara Jones of Tabernacle, NJ. Located at
the base of the trachea (not at the top, as in
humans), the syrinx is a bony structure surrounded
by an air sac. By varying the tension on the
supporting membranes, changing the intensity of
the air pressure passing through them, and the
amount of air in the air sac, birds create the
notes we hear as a sign of spring in the singing
season. The singing season has arrived.
Hallelujah! This morning I heard a Red-bellied
Woodpecker" brupping" in the distance, and a Pine
Warbler singing a quickly trilled counterpoint to
the open noted, more deliberate trill of the
junco. The cardinals have been
"cheer-cheer-cheering", the chickadees "fee-bee
fee-baying," and the doves" oo-wah-coo-coo-cooing"
for a couple of weeks, all with increasing
frequency and enthusiasm. Read
On
Choosing
Healthy Plants for Your
Garden
Certified Wildlife Habitat
Naturalist and Michigan Certified Nurseryman
Ronald Patterson of Kentwood, MI offers tips when
buying annuals and perennials. Things happen
fast this time of year and for the next few
months. Flowers, trees and shrubs come and go as
if there is a revolving door. Here today, gone
tomorrow. Blooms fade in a matter of days. Plants
get beat up by customers. ID tags are lost. Often
I am asked to ID a certain plant and its growth
habits. Find out what to look for in buying new
plants. Read
On
Name
That Bird!
Naturalist
Jack Lewnes tells about the difficulty in
identifing a bird brought to the nature center and
he goes on to relate the 'Tale of the Foot
Stomping Hawk' "On Friday morning I noticed a
pretty Sharp-shinned Hawk perched in one of my
apple trees very intently watching one of the
bluebird boxes. The bluebirds have nested in the
box and apparently were aware of the hawks
presence. In a couple of minutes, the
"Sharpy" flew over and landed on top of the
bluebird box. He gripped the front edge of the top
of the box and bent forward and looked in the
entrance hole. His next tactic was both amazing
and comical...the hawk began to dance on the top
of the box...first alternating "foot
stomps." (Maybe talon stomps is more
correct.) Then, using his wings, he tried a
"two talon stomp" three or four times. Luckily for
my resident bluebirds, they didn't fall for the
scare tactic. The Sharp-shinned Hawk shortly flew
on....in search of prey requiring a less
ingenious, (and more productive), routine.
Makes me wonder who came up with the epithet,
"bird brained." Read
On
Let's
Do Something About Global
Warming!
ONE OF THE biggest issues to address
these days is global warming. Last July I
had the opportunity to visit Alaska and see how
fast the glaciers are melting. It is
unbelievable! This could cause major problems for
all of us--humans, animals and birds. No
writing in the last few years has done more to
move the climate-change issue into the mainstream
than journalist Elizabeth Kolbert's articles in
The New Yorker, which have been collected
and expanded into the book Field Notes From a
Catastrophe. Read this fascinating
interview with her. Read
On
Do You Have An Opinion Or
Want To Share An Experience?
If you'd like to add your comments to these
and other topics, go to the American
Wildlife Blog.
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