March 31, 2014 by Born To Organize

Beginning Birding: Hummingbird Class

Don’t you just love learning new things? It’s especially fun when it’s something your passionate about. We took a hummingbird class at the spectacular Los Gatos Birdwatcher. This locally owned store describes themselves as

the nature lover’s general store, specializing in everything to do with bird feeding and bird watching.

If you’re local, or planning a visit to the area, it’s a must see. The owners and staff are wonderful people, knowledgeable and helpful in every way. Their current dog in residence is a chocolate Cocker spaniel named Marley.

Lisa Myers of Let’s Go Birding presented the hummingbird class, then lead us on a two-hour field trip Saturday morning. We had so much fun. Lisa leads a variety of birding trips throughout the bay area. She’s incredibly knowledgeable with a wonderful sense of humour.

Lisa Myers and Freddy Howell

We’ve been feeding hummingbirds in our garden for as long as I can remember. We have several feeders and hummingbird-attracting plants.

Hummingbirds in our garden

I’ve read a number of books and articles over the years, but still found much to learn. It’s also nice spending time with a group of like-minded folks.

Here are a few things I didn’t know:

There are over 300 species of hummingbirds, but only six or seven in the Bay Area.
Hummingbirds are native to the Americas. They’re not found anywhere else in the world.
Yellow attracts bees, red attracts hummingbirds. Therefore a hummingbird feeder with yellow plastic ‘flowers’ sends out mixed messages.
Anna’s Hummingbirds, native to our area, live here year round. There is no need to remove feeders during the colder months.
Hummingbirds are the only bird that can hover in the air, as well as fly forward and backward.

Anna’s Hummingbird

It was fascinating learning about torpor. Hummingbirds enter this state of hibernation nightly to conserve energy. I found the following explanation at ScienceBlogs™

Even sleeping hummingbirds have huge metabolic demands that must be met simply to survive the night when they cannot forage. To meet this energetic challenge, hummingbirds save enough energy to survive cold nights by lowering their internal thermostat at night, becoming hypothermic. This reduced physiological state is an evolutionary adaptation that is referred to as torpor.

Torpor is a type of deep sleep where an animal lowers its metabolic rate by as much as 95%. By doing so, a torpid hummingbird consumes up to 50 times less energy when torpid than when awake. This lowered metabolic rate also causes a cooled body temperature. A hummingbird’s night time body temperature is maintained at a hypothermic threshold that is barely sufficient to maintain life. This threshold is known as their set point and it is far below the normal daytime body temperature of 104°F or 40°C recorded for other similarly sized birds.

Isn’t that interesting?

Please be sure to check back tomorrow for news and pictures from our two-hour field trip to the Santa Clara Valley Audubon Society.

Fabulous resources in Silicon Valley:

Lisa Myers’ Let’s Go Birding leads tours and workshops.
Los Gatos Birdwatcher, for all things birding.
Wild Bird Care Center Quite often, wild birds are ‘over rescued’. This site has many great tips for determining if and when to intervene.

January 27, 2014 by Born To Organize

Tracking Hummingbirds

Hummingbird in winter

About three months ago, I decided to take part in a survey that tracks global hummingbird migration. The tricky part was recording the date two weeks after the last siting. The collected data helps researchers around the world better understand and protect hummingbirds. I’m all for that.

Guess what?

The hummers never left. In late fall we had an early and unusual frost lasting five days. The birds remained. Trees dropped leaves and still the birds remained. I worried that they were cold.

Then a few weeks ago I noticed our cat Lindy with her eyes glued to the sliding glass door. She had an eye-level show of a hummingbird splashing around in the frigid fountain outside. Stunned, I remained with her, eyes transfixed, until the little bather flew away. I missed the photo-op, but enjoyed the show. I had a good laugh at myself for worrying that they were too cold.

In late March, Mike and I plan to attend a workshop on Hummingbirds through the Los Gatos Birdwatcher. It’s a two-hour class, with a two-hour field trip the following weekend. I can’t wait. It will be fun to learn more about the birds specific to our area. I’m looking forward to the class and to sharing what I learn with you.

You can read about hummingbird migration at World of Hummingbirds.
The Los Gatos Birdwatcher is one of my favorite shops. They also offer workshops and services.

On a sadder note, I planned to link to the Phoebe Allen webcam in Southern California. Phoebe’s been nesting in a rose-bush several times a year since 2007. Last winter, several of us had our eyes glued to the nest as she went about the business of raising chicks. It was incredible. Phoebe laid a brood in late December, but disappeared on January 8th. A bird rehabilitater is raising the chicks till they fledge.

October 24, 2013 by Born To Organize

Hummingbird Migration: Garden Traffic in Decline

I’m going to make an extra effort this year to track the hummingbirds at our feeders. Just one day after musing about their migration habits last week, I read Joan Morris’ column in the San Jose Mercury News. One of her readers sent in the following:

Dear Joan: I’ve been feeding the hummingbirds from my patio in the same Palo Alto location for more than 10 years now.

Ms. McClellan of Saratoga, who wrote regarding how often her feeders need refilling presently, is probably experiencing what it is like to feed the migratory hummers that pass through our area each fall and spring.

Her Saratoga neighbors probably need to refill their feeders as often during these several weeks while the birds fatten up before moving south.

It will quiet down any day or week now as winter shows more and the migrating birds finish their trips south. Just a few hummingbirds stay over winter locally, and nectar needs will drop.

Then in the spring there will be another, shorter surge of feeding needed on the hummingbirds’ migration north.

Gavin Tanner

I have noticed the increased consumption of nectar at the feeders (we have three). It’s really cooled down in the last few days, finally feeling like fall. My California Girl uniform of a thin t-shirt and cotton sweater are no longer enough to keep me warm.

I found an informative website called World of Hummingbirds. They have a form on their site for reporting migration habits in your area. They ask you to wait two full weeks till the last sighting, before submitting details. I’m looking forward to taking part in this one small way. They use the collected data to: “help researchers around the world better understand and protect hummingbirds.” I’m all for that.