Ruby Throated Hummingbird Nesting Season

Ruby throated hummingbirds are iridescent green with white bellies.

Ruby throated hummingbird nesting season.

These brilliant tiny precision flying creatures glitter like jewels in the full sun then vanish with a zip toward the next nectar source. The cup shaped nest is usually only about 1 2 inches 2 5 5 cm high and 1 5 inches 3 8 cm wide. The breeding habitat is throughout most of the eastern united states and south central and southeastern canada in deciduous and pine forests and forest edges orchards and gardens. Feeders and flower gardens are great ways to attract these birds and some people turn their yards into buzzing clouds of hummingbirds each summer.

Female ruby throated hummingbird may reuse old nests for several seasons and repair them annually. The ruby throated hummingbird is migratory spending. In fact it s the only one that breeds east of the mississippi river. Unlike some other birds the duties of creating the nest incubation and feeding the chicks are entirely up to the female ruby throated hummingbird.

The ruby throated hummingbird is one of the most commonly found hummingbirds of the united states. Juveniles and non breeding birds look similar to. Their common name refers to the brilliant reddish orange coloring on the throat of mature males during the breeding season. Ruby throated hummingbirds are largely solitary outside of the breeding season.

A flash of green and red the ruby throated hummingbird is eastern north america s sole breeding hummingbird. Nesting habits of the ruby throated hummingbird once mating is complete the male moves on while the female begins nest building in earnest. Females in contrast have a grayish throat with white underparts and green coloring on the upper body. Of all hummingbirds in the united states this species has the largest breeding range.

A few ruby throated hummingbirds rufous hummingbirds and black chinned hummingbirds winter rarely but regularly in alabama. If none are available she alone builds a new nest in about 6 to 10 days. There it is fairly common in summer in open woods and gardens. Hundreds of kinds of hummingbirds nest in the american tropics and more than a dozen in the western u s but east of the great plains there is only the ruby throat.

Hovering in front of a flower to sip nectar it beats its wings more than 50 times per second. Ruby throated hummingbirds arrive in alabama about the 2nd week of march and depart alabama about the 1st week of november. As soon as mating is over the female ruby throated hummingbird has little to do with the male or vice versa she selects a suitable place for her nest often atop a small downward slanting branch overhanging an open area or stream but sometimes on a large horizontal limb and then spends many hours collecting spider webs and plant parts that she weaves into a small. To get there from their north american.

To reach these eastern breeding grounds the ruby throated hummingbird takes a perilous route of flying over 500 miles non stop over the gulf of mexico. Impressive migrants despite their small size some ruby throats may.