Do hummingbirds migrate together?

Do Hummingbirds fly south in flocks, on the backs of bigger birds, or what? ~ Eaton Rapids, Michigan  

Hummingbirds migrate thousands of miles south every fall to reach their winter homes in Mexico and Central America under their own power. They fly about 23 miles a day by themselves, not in flocks or on the backs of geese.

Some think that the rumor of hummingbirds hitching a ride with geese was started by Mr. Audubon himself. But migratory geese don't fly as far south and leave much later than hummingbirds. Geese don't start migrating until mid-September and are not gone until early November while hummingbirds start migrating in mid-July and are mostly gone from Michigan by mid-October.

It's not necessary to take down feeders to force hummingbirds to leave. The initial urge is triggered by the shortening length of sunlight as autumn approaches, and has nothing to do with temperature or the availability of food.

Many hummingbirds migrate around the Gulf of Mexico, through Texas and northern Mexico to winter in Central America. Others will fly from Florida across the Gulf of Mexico to the Yucatan Peninsula. 

Regardless of which migration route they take it's inspirational. Individual adult males get the urge to leave first, followed soon after by the females, and then finally the juveniles. Amazingly, once the young have gained enough weight, they find their own way to the same winter habitat as their parents - someplace where they have never been, using the GPS in their head.

It’s astonishing that a bird that weighs as little as a penny with the brain the size of a BB has traveled thousands of miles all alone and ended up in the right place every fall since the last ice age.

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Category › Question of the week

Hummingbird Information on Habitat and Habits

Do hummers reuse nests? I know where an old nest is and I'd like to keep it if they're done using it. Todd in Owosso, MI

Hummingbird nests are fascinating. Female Ruby-throated Hummingbirds alone construct cup shaped nests with a diameter about the same size as a quarter. They start to build with bud scales and spiderwebs and then camouflage the outside with lichen. To cushion the inside of the nest they use cotton or some other plant fluff like dandelions.

Some hummingbirds do fix up their old nest and reuse it. So I would just leave the nest you found alone but check it next spring to see if you are lucky enough to have the hummer return.

Also many people do not know that the Migratory Bird Treaty Act does make it illegal to collect nests of any native bird without a permit.

Category › Friday Photo

Goldfinch Migration

I am watching the American Goldfinches tonight along with the hummingbirds feasting on the feeders outside the dining room window. One new baby goldfinch was checking the hummingbird feeder holes for seed. Round and round he went and then finally he found his nyjer seed feeder.

I saw something else unusual too. The baby goldfinches that have graduated to feeding themselves are on one finch feeder and the the adults are feeding on the second finch feeder hanging right next to it. Even though the one feeder is packed with adult birds, none want to move over to the less busy children's table.

You can tell the babies by their sleek, sharp new olive green feathers and dark bill. The parents look ragged as they molt from their bright yellow summer feathers to their drab winter wear. The babies are going to be here all winter, so if they find your feeder now you get to enjoy these sunny sounding birds during the bleak winter months.

In October the goldfinches separate into two groups based on age. Studies show that the birds hatched this year will stay in Michigan for the winter but their parents will go further south to winter. One thought is that the first year finches didn’t have to go through a molt and have more energy to survive a winter. But I've never noticed they were feeding at separate feeders.

Have you noticed the same or are my birds just doing something special tonight?

Category › Nature up close

Why squirrels chew

I teach grade I and have a lesson on squirrels and there is a question How does squirrels eat? I would like to know the answer to this .with its sharp teeth.  or   nibble   or  gnaw . Please reply. Thanks

Baby squirrels do not have teeth or hair. They are blind for the first six to eight weeks of life. Until the babies are about two months old, they drink only mother’s milk. After that, they learn to forage with their mother. 

Squirrels need approximately two pounds of food per week. Most squirrels are considered omnivores. They are opportunistic and will eat almost anything. 

Their diet mainly includes a variety of seeds, fruit, nuts, berries, pinecones, mushrooms, tree sap, leaves, flowers, insects, mice and eggs. To eat their food, squirrels use a combination of gnawing and grinding. 

Squirrels’ teeth are typical of rodents in their ability for gnawing. They have two incisors on the top and two on the bottom jaw that will grow continuously, but stay short due to the constant wear they receive. The incisors are sharp-edged teeth located in the front of the mouth adapted for cutting or gnawing. Squirrels’ teeth have orange-colored enamel on the outside and exposed dentine on the inside, so they self-sharpen during gnawing. 

Squirrels do not have canines, or fang teeth. Behind the incisors they have a large gap called diastema. Squirrels can suck their lips into this space and gnaw and not worry about swallowing inedible debris. Squirrels also have premolars and molars similar to humans. These cheek teeth have roots, and stop growing when they become adults. The premolars and molars in the upper and lower jaw grind up food before its swallowed.

The Red Squirrel, Eastern Gray Squirrel, and Eastern Fox Squirrel are all active year-round, but may stay in their nest several days during extreme hot or cold weather. They like to bury large amounts of nuts to feed on in the winter. And some studies show that 85% of these nuts are eventually recovered.

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Category › Nature up close

Where can I get a real "squirrel-proof" bird feeder that actually works?

I spent good money on a feeder from Meijer that claimed it was squirrel proof. The critters spent an entire day eating your bird seed. So, is there really a squirrel proof bird feeder I can trust? What is the Best Squirrel Proof Bird Feeder? ~ Pinckney, Michigan

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I like the Brome Squirrel Buster Plus and so do our customers. It is our number one selling feeder at the Wild Birds Unlimited - East Lansing store. I’ve had mine for over four years now and I’ve never had a problem.

Squirrels can’t figure out how to open the feeder. It has a lock top you push down and turn to fill. The tube will hold a lot of seed and is long enough so that squirrels can’t hang upside down to reach the feeding ports. The Squirrel Buster also has a cardinal ring so cardinals can sit and eat comfortably or if you just want smaller birds, the ring can be removed.

When a squirrel tries to eat from the feeder his weight closes off the feeding ports to deny him access to the food. You can also adjust the tension to make it sensitive enough to shut down on the large starlings or blackbirds. Backyard birds average 0.3 – 2.0 ounces while blackbirds are about 4 ounces and squirrels are about a pound.

The best thing about the feeder is that it is easy to disassemble for cleaning because there are no tools required and this beautiful feeder comes with a Lifetime Factory Warranty.

You can fill the Squirrel Buster Plus with any quality seed and hang it from a pole or tree. I like to use the Wild Birds Unlimited No-Mess seed blend and I have mine hanging on a tree hook. The feeder attracts a variety of pretty birds that I can watch when I come home from work and no squirrels. The poor squirrels don’t understand that the seed you put out isn’t for them.

Squirrel proof feeders are the easiest way to keep them out of your “bird” seed and the Squirrel Buster Plus is one of the best feeders guaranteed!

Category › Product Highlight

Angry Birds Battle through Song

Did you ever hear a bird sing in your yard and then hear a far away bird seem to sing a reply? Scientists have now concluded that their songs aren’t to fill the air with heavenly music, but more like a karaoke-style battle to see who can sing the song the best.

"Song-sharing, where birds sing a smaller number of their species' greatest hits, is a more aggressive and attention-seeking behaviour. It's also a behaviour most often displayed by belligerent older males," explains Janet Lapierre, a visiting biologist from the University of Western Ontario (UWO).

Research conducted at Queen's University Biological Station (QUBS) suggests that song-sharing amongst song sparrow populations is actually an aggressive behavior, akin to flinging insults back and forth.

Older male sparrows were the most likely to engage in more aggressive or attention-seeking song-sharing bouts, suggesting that older males may be more willing or able to risk conflict and may also have more experience in which songs are effective signals in their local area.

“The novelty of this study was that we looked at how birds use songs rather than just examining the content of their repertoires,” says Dr. MacDougall-Shackleton, a biology professor from the University of Western Ontario and a regular QUBS researcher. 

These findings were recently published in Behavioural Ecology and Sociobiology.

Source:

The above story is reprinted with editorial adaptations from materials provided by Queen's University.

Journal Reference:

Janet M. Lapierre, Daniel J. Mennill, Elizabeth A. MacDougall-Shackleton. Spatial and age-related variation in use of locally common song elements in dawn singing of song sparrows Melospiza melodia: old males sing the hits. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, 2011; DOI: 10.1007/s00265-011-1223-1

Category › Quick fun Facts

How to find help in identifying birds

Hi, Sarah -- My name is Lynn.  I want to get an ID on a couple of photos I took yesterday, and was referred to you.

The first I suspect may be one of the flycatchers, Willow or Alder.  Territory was swamp/lowlands and creek.  Note the longish beak, and especially the two-toned effect.  Also, not wholly visible on this pic are, I believe, two wing bars.  No "smudges" under the tail that I could discern on this or any of the other pics (not much difference between the pics):

This second pic I don't have a clue about.  It was taken in the same area as the first.  This bird does not have the two-toning that the first one does on it's beak, but it's still pointy, not finch or sparrow-like.  Both seem to have exceptionally black feet. I'm baffled. I'm curious what you think they may be? Thanks --Lynn

Hi Lynn, Empidonax flycatchers are hard to ID even for some experienced field ornithologists. These small greenish-gray birds with eye-rings and wing bars are very similar in appearance and can best be identified positively by song or a series up-close measurements.

The first looks like a Willow Flycatcher, almost identical to the Adler but with the less defined eye ring but I'm not positive. The second looks like an Eastern Phoebe.

Fall can be a hard time to identify birds with all the juvenile and molting birds too. --Sarah
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I took this pic today (Clinton County, MI):

I realize this is a little too far south, but I'm thinking Yellow-Bellied Flycatcher.  It has a distinct eye ring, black legs, a bi-colored beak, whiskers, and a bit of a crest (not clearly visible in this shot).  Sorry, this is the only angle I saw.  What do you think? Thanks for your help --Lynn

It could be a Yellow-bellied Flycatcher. They migrate through Michigan mid-June through August.
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Do you want me to post your photos on Sunday's blog and see if we can get an expert birders opinion on the identification? --Sarah
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Sure, that would be great!  I started officially taking these photos last December, and next December I plan to put them into book form (just for myself, because with upwards of 50 - 8½ x 11's, my photo book is starting to fall apart), and I'd really like to know how to label them.  ......Or I could just go with a "?". Thanks, Sarah!
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Your welcome! The photos are fantastic, by the way, thanks for sending them. Another good resource to help identify birds is WeLoveBirds.com. It's a fun, free website full of information. I submitted your photos to their birding forum and the consensus was #1 is a Willow Flycatcher, #2 is an Eastern Phoebe and #3 is a Yellow-bellied Flycatcher.
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One comment in the forum discussion was "It's good to talk these (bird IDs) out and share our reasoning, helps us get better!  :)" And I agree. You can view all their comments at http://www.welovebirds.org/forum/topics/phoebe-flycatcher-id-help --Sarah

Category › Bird of the week