Ruby throated hummingbirds, the only species of hummingbirds that nest in Georgia during summer, are now ensconced in their winter homes in Mexico and Central America.
That doesn’t mean, however, that you should take down your hummingbird feeder and store it until the ruby throats return in the spring. Biologists with the Georgia Department of Natural Resources advise you to leave a nectar-filled feeder up all winter.
If you do, your chances of attracting a wintertime hummingbird to your yard are good. Other than the ruby throat, 11 hummingbird species have been reported in Georgia during late fall and winter.
Most of them are natives of Western states and probably are migrating through the state. Georgia’s most common wintertime hummingbird, the rufous, has the longest migration of any North American hummingbird, traveling from its breeding ranges, which extend from the Pacific Northwest as far north as southern Alaska, to its primary wintering grounds in Mexico.
Obviously, though, many rufous hummingbirds take a different route and fly through Georgia on their way south. During the past decade, dozens of them have shown up each winter in Georgia — so many that ornithologists have considered including the state as part of the tiny bird’s natural range.
A first-year male rufous hummer appeared last week at Theresa Hartz’s home in Big Canoe in Dawson County. “The bird is megafat, so it may be gearing up to continue its migration,” she said. “But I’ll enjoy him as long as he stays.”
Biologists with the DNR’s nongame office say, however, that identifying wintering hummingbirds is difficult, so don’t assume that a hummingbird showing up at your feeder is a rufous. The biologists encourage anyone hosting a winter hummingbird to report it at 478-994-1438.
In addition to the rufous, other hummingbird species documented in Georgia include the Allen’s, Anna’s, black-chinned, broad-billed, broad-tailed, buff-bellied, calliope, green-breasted mango and magnificent hummingbirds. Another species, the green violet-eared hummingbird, has been reported in the state but not confirmed.
In the sky: The South Taurid meteor shower reaches a peak of about 10 meteors per hour on Sunday night. Look to the east from about midnight until dawn, said David Dundee, an astronomer at the Tellus Science Museum. The moon will be last quarter on Tuesday, rising about midnight and setting around midday. Mercury is low in the west just after dark. Venus rises out of the east about two hours before sunrise. Mars is low in the southwest just after dark and sets in the west a few hours later. Jupiter rises out of the east a few hours after dark.
