Birdwatch

Hardy Hummers

Rufous hummingbirds are midwint er gu est s

By susan CaMPBell

It may sound odd, but this is a good time to talk about hummingbirds. I have been fielding reports of these tiny, winged jewels for weeks. So far, I have banded 17 and have details on almost 100 more — and counting! Yes, even in the middle of the winter.

Here in North Carolina, hummingbird lovers can find or attract these amazing little fliers any month of the year. And this winter has been a particularly productive season for hardy hummers across the state. Predictably, the bulk of the hummingbirds I have encountered in the Piedmont have been rufous hummingbirds.

A nnua lly, shor ter days and cooler temperat ures hera ld the ret ur n of r ufous hummingbirds f rom points far to our nor th and west. T he species breeds f rom the Rock y Mountains up into souther n Canada and across to southeaster n A lask a. T hey beg in nesting when there is still snow on the g round and vegetation is sparse. In the cooler months, the major it y of r ufous can be found w inter ing in souther n Mexico. However, it has been discovered in the last few decades that a w inter ing population exists in the southeaster n United States. Across Nor th Carolina, dozens of r ufous take up residence bet ween October and Apr il. Many go unnoticed unless they appear at lateblooming plants or sugar water feeders. T hese are extremely tough lit tle cr it ters.

These tiny birds that spend their summers at high latitudes are well adapted to cold weather. They can forage in below freezing temperatures, searching thick vegetation for insects with little dif ficult y. At night and during colder, wet periods, they will seek out thick evergreen cover and use torpor, a nighttime hibernation, to conser ve energ y. The pines, cedars, hollies and magnolias in central North Carolina make excellent winter habitat for rufous hummingbirds.

T he ma le r ufous is ver y distinctive, hav ing r ust y body feathers in addition to a copper y ir idescent gorget. Fema les, however, are a dif ferent stor y. T heir size and shape are not ver y distinctive. A side f rom reddish-brow n color at the base of their tail feathers, and perhaps a smat ter ing of brow nish feathers around the face and flank s, they appear much like immat ure ma le r ubythroateds. T hey a lso look ver y similar to a few other species of Wester n hummers such as the A llen’s, broad-tailed or ca lliope hummingbird. For those w ith a good musica l ear, the voca lization — a loud ser ies of “stick ” notes — may g ive a r ufous away.

It is interesting to note that some of these tiny mar vels ret ur n to the same feeder f rom one w inter to the next. In fact, some indiv idua ls are faithf ul to the same location over their lifetime, which can be seven years. To date, we have had three fema les that have done just that, proven by the tiny a luminum bands I placed on their legs the first year. Some indiv idua ls choose to over w inter in dif ferent locations in the Southeast. T his year we have t wo “foreig ners.” One of them was or ig ina lly banded by a colleag ue of mine outside Mobile, A labama, t wo w inters ago.

Furthermore, there have been some extremely lucky folks, including hosts in both the Sandhills and the Triad, who have hosted not one, but multiple rufous over the course of a single season. L ast November, both a hostess in Asheville and another at R iverbend Count y Park outside Hickor y each had three female rufous coming in for sugar water. A friend and research colleague who runs that park is investigating a fourth female rufous who turned up on Februar y 1.

And no need to worr y: Winter sugar water feeder maintenance is straightfor ward. Hang it in an open location and simply rinse and refill ever y two weeks or so. In our area, a feeder hung close to the house will be protected most days and many of the nights. The regular solution (4 parts water; 1 part sugar) will not freeze unless the air temperature drops below 27 degrees.

So, go ahead and hang a feeder any time. It is absolutely never too late to get noticed. W ho knows? It may be found by a passing rufous hummingbird or two. OH Su san w oul d l o ve t o receive y our w il dlife obser vat ion s an d /or ph ot os at su san@n c ave s.com.