With a whir of iridescent green feathers, the Ruby-throated Hummingbirds announce their arrival to our New England property each spring. We usually hear them before our eyes can latch on to these aerial acrobats as they zip across our backyard in a series of exuberant loop-the-loops.
For the past few years, my husband has hung a feeder just for them next to our outdoor deck, giving us a front-row view of their behavior throughout their seasonal visit.
We hover over them like nervous parents: remarking on their scrawny appearance when they first arrive; shivering with them on cool, rainy days when they perch, dripping miserably, on the wires between our deck’s railings; and, in the fall, worry about everyone getting enough to eat when they aggressively chase each other away from the feeder, competing for calories to fuel their trek to tropical climes.
Like most birds, hummingbirds are feeling the effects of climate disruption. (Tweet this) A post on Audubon’s web site, equates the impact of a changing planet on hummingbirds to a vacation in which plane and train schedules are changed without warning, and signs pointing to roadside gas stations have suddenly disappeared.
According to the article,
“A growing body of research (McKinney, et al. 2012) indicates flowers are blooming earlier because of warming temperatures. There is potential for this change to impact the established synchronous relationship between hummingbirds arriving on their breeding grounds and bloom times of their food sources. The degree to which hummingbirds are able to adapt to accommodate these changes is poorly understood and a comprehensive feeding behavior survey of hummingbird species across the country has yet to be undertaken.”
Indeed, the post goes on to note that the arrival time of Ruby-throated Hummingbirds — our hummingbirds — is already changing, and, it asks,
“Will these changes affect local pollination systems and will the Ruby-throated Hummingbird be able to keep pace with the accelerated warming?”
Just as they do each year via the Christmas Bird Count, the Audubon Society is using citizen science to compile the data it needs to answer questions like these.
A new app, called Hummingbirds at Home, will elevate our anecdotal observations from entertaining dinner conversation into data that Audubon says can help protect hummingbirds from the impact of climate disruption.
By inputting observations about what local hummingbirds are feeding on, backyard birders across the US will provide scientists with data about the location of the nectar-rich flowers that hummingbirds need to survive, and how climate disruption impacts when they bloom. According to Audubon,
“Citizen scientists in this project document hummingbird feeding behavior across the country by recording the timing of nectar plant blooms locally, what hummingbirds are feeding on, and when feeding occurs as they arrive on their breeding grounds and throughout the breeding season.”
The article notes that by documenting what hummingbirds eat in our backyard — including sugar water from our feeder — we will help Audubon scientists figure out,
“Are hummingbird feeders and/or non-native plants supporting hummingbirds at a level that native plants do not because of the change in bloom times? Where and when might hummingbirds be most vulnerable due to a scarcity of nectar resources?”
I’ve downloaded the app, have identified our “patch,” and look forward to participating in this program. In doing so, the information we provide won’t just protect our avian children, it will help human children as well.
As Jeff LeBaron, director of the annual Christmas Bird Count (CBC) told me this past January, when it comes to climate disruption, birds truly are the proverbial canary in a coal mine. As he said,
“They are quick responders to what is happening to the environment — their numbers will decline, move or increase. They are a good indicator of what’s happening with the environment that affects everyone, including people.”