Detour

The Story of a Hummingbird Gone Astray

By Cheryl Beshke

Hummingbirds migrate thousands of miles to get from their summer breeding grounds to their winter homes. Occasionally, a hummer will go astray, perhaps blown off course by a storm or for other reasons scientists do not understand. This is the story of one Rufous Hummingbird that took a detour on her journey from the Pacific Northwest to southwestern Mexico and landed in an Atlanta backyard.

Detour

The Story of a Hummingbird Gone Astray

written by Cheryl Beshke

Beshke PublishingAtlanta, Georgia

On a snowy January day, a Rufous Hummingbird arrived in an Atlanta neighborhood. She was cold and hungry and far from her winter home.

Did You Know?

The only hummingbirds that breed in the eastern United States are Ruby-Throated Hummingbirds, who arrive in Atlanta from their wintering grounds south of the U.S./ Mexico border around the first day of spring. They usually leave when the insects and flowers that are their food supply become scarce, in late October.

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Most other Rufous Hummingbirds had migrated from their summer home in the Pacific Northwest to southwestern Mexico.

Did You Know?

Rufous Hummingbirds can travel as many as 12,000 miles during a round-trip migration!

Ruby-Throated Hummingbirds migrate across the Gulf of Mexico, a journey of over 450 miles that takes them about 22 hours to complete. Sometimes they make this journey when the wind is practically blowing them backwards!

2

Somehow she had taken a detour, perhaps blown off course in a storm.

Did You Know?

Birders used to believe that all hummingbirds that were found away from their wintering grounds in Mexico were sick or lost or injured. We now know, thanks to the practice of banding birds, that some of these birds return year after year to the same yards. Some people think that a small number of these birds have always wintered here. Others think that they are dispersing north from Mexico.

3

She came to the red hummingbird feeder hoping for some sugar water. When people saw her investigating, they quickly cleaned and filled it.

Did You Know?

Hummingbirds have a very high metabolism. They need to feed about every 10 minutes, and they can consume up to twice their body weight in nectar each day! Hummingbirds can find nectar inside certain flowers or they can drink artificial nectar, made from sugar and water, from special feeders that humans provide.

4

The weather improved, but the hummingbird stayed near the house with the feeder in the backyard, delighting the family who lived there.

Did You Know?

Hummingbirds have very long tongues that help them to reach nectar at the base of flowers. They are able lap up nectar by taking several licks every second!

They also eat tiny insects and spiders to get the protein, vitamins, and minerals that they need to be healthy.

5

She came to the feeder often, taking long drinks. Sometimes she would perch, and sometimes she would hover.

Did You Know?

Hummingbirds can hover in mid-air by rapidly beating their wings up to 90 times per second. When they hover, their wings nearly touch in front of and then behind their body. They are the only bird that can actually fly backwards. Hummingbirds can reach flying speeds of up to 60 miles per hour!

6

At night she found a sheltered place where she could stay out of the weather and sleep.

Did You Know?

Hummingbirds enter a state called torpor when it is very cold. It is like going into a deep sleep. Their body temperature drops as much as 35 degrees! Their heart rate and breathing rate slow down, too. When a hummingbird is in a state of torpor, it does not need to burn as many calories and it requires less food.

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Did You Know?

Researchers use a trap like this one so that they may capture birds and gather information about them. Their research is helping to better understand hummingbird behavior, especially migration, in North America. If you see a hummingbird in your yard between November and March, it is important to be a citizen scientist and report your find.

One day, the feeder was in a strange place. She was hungry, so she entered the cage. The door shut behind her, but there was plenty of sugar water to drink.8

A man reached into the cage and held her firmly in his warm hand. He looked carefully at her leg and saw a tiny band.

Did You Know?

When a hummingbird is banded, it is fitted with a light-weight aluminum band that is inscribed with a unique number. Banders need to form each hummingbird band by hand. They carefully cut them from an aluminum sheet, sand them smooth, and form them into a kind of bracelet. Each band weighs about 0.005 grams. Thus, it takes 200 bands to weigh a single gram, or, 5,500 to weigh just one ounce.

9

He put her in a little mesh bag so that he could carry her to his truck where he kept his tools.

Did You Know?

Researchers use a mesh bag, similar to those used for washing delicate laundry, to keep a hummingbird safe while they are carrying it. They can hold it in the bag for a short time until they are ready to let it go. The soft mesh restrains the bird without harming it.

10

He carefully weighed her and measured her and recorded the information to share with other hummingbird researchers.

Did You Know?

A Rufous Hummingbird is about 3 ½ inches long from the tip of its beak to the end of its tail. It weighs about 3 ½ grams, less than the weight of a nickel! Female hummingbirds are bigger than male hummingbirds.

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He examined her tail feathers to check for field marks so he could be sure she was a Rufous Hummingbird.

Did You Know?

Rufous Hummingbirds look very similar to another species of hummingbird, the Allen’s Hummingbird. By looking closely at this bird’s tail feathers, the bander could see that the tail feathers near the center were slightly notched. An Allen’s Hummingbird does not have this tail feature.

12

The feathers on her gorget were iridescent in the sun.

Did You Know?

The iridescence, or shiny metallic color, of some of the feathers on the hummingbird’s throat is caused by the refraction, or bending, of light, similar to what happens when light shines through a prism. At some angles, no light is refracted, so the feathers look black. At other angles, the feathers reflect light and produce a bright flash of color. 13

He held her carefully and brought her long, pointed beak to the feeder.

Did You Know?

A hummingbird has a beak, or bill, like other birds, but long and narrow to help it reach inside flowers for nectar. The top of the beak overlaps the edges of the lower beak, which is slightly flexible. Hummingbirds do not use their beaks to drink as if it were a straw. They lap up nectar with their tongues.

14

She took a long drink because she was already hungry again.

Did You Know?

Drinking nectar from flowers does not only help the hummingbird—it also helps the flowers! When a hummingbird puts its head and beak inside a flower, pollen grains stick to its beak. Some of that pollen is left behind when the hummingbird visits the next flower. This helps the flower to make seeds so it can make new flowers.,

15

His work now done, it was time to let her go.

Did You Know?

A female Rufous Hummingbird will look for a mate in the spring. She will make her own small cup-shaped nest out of soft materials stuck together with spider webs and then lay two eggs, each about the size of a pea. The eggs hatch about 16 days after they are laid. The female takes care of her young by herself. The baby birds will remain in the nest for about three weeks and then fly away.

16

He placed the tiny bird into the woman’s cupped hand.

Did You Know?

Hummingbirds are the tiniest birds in the world. The smallest of all hummingbirds is the Bee Hummingbird, which is found in Cuba. It is about two inches long from the tip of its beak to the tip of its tail and weighs less than two grams, or a little less than the weight of a dime.

17

The Rufous Hummingbird rested there a moment, still and content. The woman could feel the beating of the hummingbird’s heart in her palm. Then the little bird flew away.

Did You Know?

A hummingbird’s heart beats between 250 times (at rest) and 1,260 times per minute! Compare that to an average rate of between 60 and 100 beats per minute for humans.

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Epilogue

The little Rufous Hummingbird stayed in Atlanta the rest of the winter. She continued to come to the feeder many times a day. As the weather warmed up, she came to the feeder less frequently because now there were small insects that she could eat.

The days grew longer, and the little Rufous Hummingbird could tell that spring was coming. One day in the middle of March, the urge to fly north became too strong for her to stay in Atlanta. She probably flew back to the Pacific Northwest, perhaps near the place where she had been hatched.

She was never seen in Atlanta again.

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Glossary

detour – an indirect route or path, sometimes used when the main route is closed or not available.

field marks – unique characteristics that separate one bird from another.

gorget – an iridescent throat patch on hummingbirds.

hover – to remain in one place in the air by rapidly beating the wings.

iridescent – displaying shimmery colors that change depending on the observer’s position.

migrate – to move annually between breeding and wintering sites.

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Photo Credits

• Cover: Photo by Cheryl Brown• Hummingbird line drawing:

http://www.animalclipart.net/animal_clipart_images/hummingbird_coloring_page_0515-1102-2016-2207_SMU.jpg

• Page 1 Photo by Cheryl Brown• Page 2

http://sdakotabirds.com/species/maps/rufous_hummingbird_map.htm• Page 3 http://backyard.weatherbug.com/profiles/blogs/we-got-our-white-

christmas• Page 4 http://www.flickr.com/photos/grassvalleylarry/3113750431/ • Page 5. http://www.flickr.com/photos/pictiurfear/3420444532/• Page 6. http://www.flickr.com/photos/rolsson/6077356268/• Page 7. http://www.flickr.com/photos/orpost/3094595366/

Photo Credits• Page 8. Photo by Cheryl Brown• Page 9. Photo by Cheryl Brown• Page 10. Photo by Cheryl Brown• Page 11. Photo by Cheryl Brown• Page 12. Photo by Rusty Trump• Page 13. Photo by Rusty Trump• Page 14. Photo by Cheryl Brown• Page 15. Photo by Cheryl Brown• Page 16. Photo by Rusty Trump• Page 17. Photo by Rusty Trump• Page 18. Photo by Rusty Trump

Bibliography

The following resources were helpful in creating this book. Check them out if you would like to learn more about hummingbirds!

All about birds. The Cornell Lab of Ornithology. 20 Nov. 2011. Web.Chambers, Lanny. Rufous Hummingbirds. Hummingbirds.net. 20 Nov. 2011. Web.Sibley, D. A. (2003). The Sibley field guide to birds of Eastern North America. New York:

Alfred A. Knopf.Sibley, D. A. (2001). The Sibley guide to bird life and behavior. New York: Alfred A.

Knopf.Thompson, Bill III. (2006). Bird-watching basics for dummies. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley

Publishing.World of Hummingbirds. DGE Enterprises. 20 Nov. 2011. Web.

Author Cheryl Beshke has been an avid bird watcher for most of her life. Having the Rufous Hummingbird visit her yard in the winter of 2004 was definitely one of the highlights of her birding life.

A Master Birder, Cheryl lives in Atlanta with her three daughters and a multitude of pets.