Everything is happening early this year — Mardi Gras, Easter, Spring Break — so how does that affect our expectations of hummingbird migration?
This is a good time to remind everyone to go to the top spot for hummingbird migration data. Be sure to make the site even more valuable by contributing your own “dot” to the migration map when you spot your first hummer this year. Not much more to be said on this topic because Lanny’s migration pages (and the ability to see previous years’ data) says it all.
Go here: http://www.hummingbirds.net/map.html
Happy birding!
- Chris Whelan
March 22nd, 2008
Good question!
Look around, through your favorite hummingbird research literature, and you will probably find most researchers willing to say that hummingbirds have little or no sense of smell (olfactory sense), or that any evidence (supporting or contradicting their olfactory sense) is completely inconclusive at best.
At this risk of ruffling feathers, we (at Dr. JB’s) think that their olfactory sense is stronger than most of the literature would suggest. But in the interest of always supporting the scientific methods of asserting an hypothesis and testing it with empirically agreeable, measurable controls and variables, we would like to put this to you. Any interest in finding out? Any interest in testing?
Here is the basis for our hypothesis - a simple matter of limited yet convincing experience with a prior product-development project: Initially, Dr. JB was developing a gel to repel ants and bees from hummingbird feeders. We subsequently scrapped this project because, although our repellent was tested to be of the lowest possible toxicity and containing all natural scents and elements, we were not comfortable in providing direction to apply the gel near the feeder holes, since we could not guarantee that it would always be applied correctly (in a way that could not contact the birds, toxic or not). As a result of our testing, however, we discovered a highly observable attraction of hummingbirds — i.e., attraction of birds to feeders where hummingbirds were previously not feeding, and especially to new sites, and especially in comparison to nearby feeders that did not contain the gel. As for the gel itself, we will only say that it is very similar to some very common repellents used by humans (but again, of the lowest toxicity) — repellents that are marketed on the appeal of their fragrance. No more about that for now.
During those early stages of testing, Dr. JB was strongly encouraged by friends to market the gel as an attractant to hummingbirds, as well as a repellent of bees and ants (which it succeeded very well in doing). But we are very reluctant to make such claims without testing that equals the quality of Dr. JB’s experiences with clinical trials in medicine.
So, we had sufficient experience to believe that the olfactory sense of hummingbirds is stronger than popularly believed, but we scrapped that project and concentrated on the quality and marketing of our Clean Feeder. Now, we’d like to pose the question — if we apply the gel in a way that it is impossible to contact our hummingbird friends (i.e., within an ant cup above the feeder, which will serve dual purposes), is there any interest in helping us test this hypothesis? It should be easy enough to establish the test criteria; feeders place near each other, with and without the gel, filled simultaneously, etc.
Let us know of your thoughts, or of any similar experiences and questions regarding the olfactory sense of hummingbirds.
Happy Feeding,
Chris Whelan
February 16th, 2008
There are still those winter stragglers in North Carolina. The following is from Dwayne Martin, Catawba County Park Ranger, regarding recent hummingbird banding activity in North Carolina.
Today,1-23-08, I had a five hummingbird day in and around Charlotte.
> Four of them I was able to catch and one was seen, but had no interest
> in the trap. May first capture was a handsome immature male Calliope
> just inside the city limits of Monroe. My next two captures were
> recaptures from last year in Charlotte; both female Rufous. The fourth
> one was a Selasphorous in Charlotte that didn’t like the look of the
> trap (I’ll try for it again later). The last one turned out to be the
> most interesting one. It showed up at a home near downtown Concord
> last Friday. The hosts noticed late yesterday afternoon that it had a
> band on it. I was able to catch it pretty quick, and low and behold,
> I recognized the number as one of mine. It was a female Rufous that I
> had banded in south Charlotte last March. I guess it decided it was
> time to move to the suburbs. It was a fun, but tiresome day (12 hours
> and 200+ miles).
>>> Dwayne
> *************
> Dwayne Martin
> Hickory, NC
> redxbill@gmail.com
> http://www.naturalsciences.org/nchummers/
>> Catawba County Park Ranger
> Riverbend Park - Conover, NC
> jdmartin@catawbacountync.gov
> http://www.catawbacountync.gov/depts/parks/
January 26th, 2008
Dear Feeders,
It has been a crazy, exciting, frustrating, enlightening, encouraging, discouraging, thankful and finally successful past two months!
Before the explanation — a word of general thanks. Our customers stuck with us while they waited for up to two months for their hummingbird feeders. We expected many, many, many more to cancel orders, but out of the roughly 5,000 orders we received in four weeks, only about 20 customers canceled; most of them for logistic reasons (i.e., in the middle of a move, or leaving the country, etc.) So, we have a lot to be thankful for, this holiday season. We were hit with a massive windfall of publicity which launched us into an entirely new level of production, and our customers weathered the growth pains with us. We’ll say it again: Dr. JB’s has the best customers in the world.
And now for details. Until August 25, we were selling about 40 hummingbird feeders per week, at a nice steady pace, where four or five family members could easily run the business and correspond with every customer. Then, “the article” ran in the Charlotte Observer. 600 feeders sold on August 25. About 300 more feeders sold the next day. We were in good shape to meet that demand and produce feeders fast enough to re-stock, but … over the next four weeks, newspapers all over the country started running the article about Dad (Dr. JB), his modest beginnings, his “give back” attitude and achievements, and the innovative Clean Feeder that our customers are calling the best hummingbird feeder ever. After the Atlanta Constitution then ran the article, and we meanwhile discovered a defective batch of adhesive that we were using (which halted production), we had to cry “uncle” and turn off the ordering while we caught up with the backlog. Over the following two months, we switched assembly/fulfillment houses, secured a new adhesive, and made many efficiency enhancements to prepare for a new level of volume. So now, all of the backlogged orders are shipped, and we are open again, and we will do our best to keep inventory on the shelves, available for purchase.
But we will never again sell feeders that we don’t have available to ship immediately.
We will promise to ship orders within 24 business hours of the order. However, for now, until Christmas, we will have to make that 72 hours because all of the anticipatory traffic is very, very high. Therefore, if you would like Dr. JB’s Clean Feeders as Christmas gifts, please order them by December 15 to be assured of delivery.
And if you find that we are out of stock, bear with us. We won’t sell products we don’t have, and we will restock as fast as we can.
Thank you again! And happy holidays from the Dr. JB’s family!
Chris Whelan
November 24th, 2007
At Dr. JB’s, we are still speechless.
After this article was published …
http://www.charlotte.com/local/story/250423.html
… we received nearly 900 orders for the Clean Feeder in one weekend. Then we thought the surge would settle down, but it appears now that papers all over the country are picking up the story and publishing it. Oh my. The orders are clicking away. At a time when we would typically be winding down and getting ready for Christmas sales, we are finding ourselves huffing and puffing to make more feeders as fast as we can to keep up with the orders. This has been an amazing response to the story of Dr. JB, and we are so grateful.
We also ask for some patience, as our shipments aren’t now as timely as usual; it will take about two weeks to get current orders shipped.
If you haven’t yet read the article, give it a read; it’s very well written. And if you have ordered from us recently, thank you so much. We’ll always do our best to meet and exceed your expectations for the best hummingbird feeder.
Finally, with this banner period of sales upon us, we are now planning for some very good improvements to the feeder. Stay tuned.
Happy Feeding,
Chris Whelan
Dr. JB’s
September 1st, 2007
Feeders,
I should be writing about the pre-migratory August feeding frenzy, which is a joy to behold and in full swing, but I received a link that features more of a spring-time activity — the birth of hummers. This is one amazing video. Enjoy:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gG59PaCiiDg
(if the above line does not appear as a link, type it into your browser or click/drag across it, copy it, and paste it into your browser)
Happy Feeding,
Chris Whelan
Dr. JB’s
August 19th, 2007
Greetings Feeders!
This is my favorite site for tracking the migration of the hummers:
http://www.hummingbirds.net/map.html
Lanny does us a great service in providing this excellent self-reporting tool for tracking the coming of the hummingbirds. According to this map, they’re in Kentucky, but I haven’t seen ours yet.
Here’s the question I have at the moment: What extent of human enticement (e.g., the addition of feeders and flowers) does it take to create a new nesting location for hummers? I’ve been having an e-mail conversation with a customer who now has hanged about 80+ feeders to conduct an experiment that may determine this. Notwithstanding the high number of other potential variables that could complicate such an experiment — such as feeder-hanging activity of his neighbors, or other local/regional changes — it sounds like an interesting experiment.
Any other observations out there? Can anybody enlighten us regarding the critical-mass of added food sources that would create new nesting preferences among hummingbirds? Thanks for any thoughts/observations!
Happy Feeding,
Chris Whelan
April 22nd, 2007
Feeders,
A new friend in Cape Town, South Africa happened upon our website; he was searching for a durable hummingbird feeder to place in his father’s retirement village. We then began a series of e-mail discussions about feeders and hummingbirds.
After sharing these conversations with Dad (Dr. JB), he was amazed — because according to Dad’s research, hummingbirds are only found in the northern hemisphere. So we looked into this South African hummingbird a little more.
According to our South African friend, the native term for their most common hummer is “suikerbekkie.” Some quick online research showed me that there are a variety of “sunbirds” that are equated with suikerbekkies. I found tidbits of information on suikerbekkie and sunbirds in a variety of sources, and I liked the concise summary of “sunbirds” in the Wikipedia entry. Here’s an address:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunbird
Excerpt: “Most species can take nectar by hovering like a hummingbird, but usually perch to feed. … Although they are completely unrelated, the sunbirds find counterparts in the hummingbirds of the Americas and the honeyeaters of Australia. The resemblances are due to convergent evolution due to the similar nectar-feeding lifestyle.
Like the hummingbirds, they are strongly sexually dimorphic, with the males usually brilliantly plumaged in metallic colours. Sunbirds have long thin down-curved bills and brush tipped tubular tongues, both adaptations to their nectar feeding. Up to three eggs are laid in a purse-shaped suspended nest.”
Very interested in the differences between hummers and sunbirds, I again turned to my father, “How are hummingbirds distinguished from other birds that hover and feed on nectar”? He returned the following definition:
Sheri Williamson states in her book, Hummingbirds of North America,
“Of these characteristics, the one that sets hummingbirds apart from all other birds is their hovering, insectlike flight. Many birds, from ospreys to warblers, can remain stationary in midair for a few wingbeats, but only the hummingbirds have the ability to do so almost indefinitely, as well as to fly backward, straight up and down, and side to side.”
Can the suikerbekkie hover side to side, up and down, etc.?
A feeder is on its way to our friend, and he promised to take some photos for us. We eagerly await them, and will publish them here as soon as they arrive. But even then, my appetite for definition/distinction may not be satiated unless I can see a video of the sunbirds in flight. I have been unable to find such footage on the internet. Any help? Anybody have personal experience with sunbirds?
Thanks for all thoughts and contributions, and happy birding.
Chris Whelan
P.S. — I always have to disclaim when using Wikipedia as a research source, that we have to be careful accepting details in the entries. However, I am a big fan of “shareware” and especially of resources like Wikepedia that grow from the collective knowledge and experience of an increasingly shrinking world. Therefore, about Wikipedia, I always say this: Great for generalities; details should be confirmed by other sources; and please contribute your own facts to improve this amazing resource which serves as a living, growing manifestation of an increasingly integrated world. So, if you have anything to share about hummingbirds, sunbirds or any other subject matter, I encourage you to contribute your knowledge (with references) to Wikepedia.
March 13th, 2007
Fellow Feeders,
This has certainly been a winter to give more credibility to global warming. Not that Hurricane Katrina didn’t already give us a wake-up call.
With the changes in weather patterns becoming more noticeable to us humans, I’m curious about what the hummers might think, and how they might be reacting. Has anyone noticed any changes in humminingbirds’ migration patterns? Should we expect them to stay longer in the northern states? Or will their internal clocks stay set to the same schedule, no matter what?
Any thoughts? Observations? Musings?
Happy Feeding,
Chris
February 3rd, 2007
I decided to address some common questions heard this time of year. When should I bring in my feeder? If I leave it out too long, will the hummingbirds be confused and miss the window of opportunity to migrate safely? I asked our good friend Susan Campbell, Hummingbird Researcher and Bander to offer her insight. In a recent email, she stated the following:
“This question is one that comes up all the time in reference to hummingbirds and feeding. The fact is that you need not take feeders down in order for hummingbirds (or any other migratory birds for that matter) to migrate. They will leave when their bodies tell them it is time to go–based on day length. At this time of year, their hormones are reacting to the shortening days such that they are eating more, will get restless and eventually leave. When they go it will not be because of food availability or weather but as a result of their body chemistry.
… here in south central NC, the last of the migrating Ruby-throated Hummingbirds will pass early to mid-October. It is best to leave a feeder up for at least a week after you see the last hummingbird–just so that it is available for any stragglers that may show up.”
I hope our readers find this helpful.
Happy feeding.
Anne
September 8th, 2006
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