Re: Hummingbird Question

Lanny Chambers wrote:
In article <f1bae$4426916d$3f43f162$11312@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>,
"pixi" <pixi@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:


So what is the proper habitat to attract that number of birds?


From my personal observations, places with swarms of Ruby-throats have had these things in common:
- proximity to a large tract of wild hardwood forest
- nearby wetland or stream
- lots of tiny flying insects
- abundant nectar sources
- absence of land in pasture or crops (but orchards are good)

We're talking about prime nesting habitat here. There's probably a climate factor, too, but I don't know what its limits are.

It may help to be in the Ozarks; see this map:
http://www.mbr-pwrc.usgs.gov/id/framlst/BBSMap/ra4280.gif

Other species have different habitat preferences.


I don't exactly have prime habitat, and it shows, I haven't seen a hummer at my feeders yet. But during the fall migration, clustered feeders do draw large numbers, but only during the fall. So, perhaps, one additional factor is location on the migratory path at the right time of the year.

Eric Miller
Surrounded by pasture land in
Alexandria, Louisiana
.