In our neck of the woods... Ruby-throated hummingbirds

For some reason, this year we have fewer hummingbirds at our feeders. In recent years, we would have twenty or more hummers buzzing around the feeders on our deck at any given time. This year, only two or three at a time. No idea why.

The ruby-throated hummingbird is the only species that breeds east of the Rocky Mountains, so it is the only type we've ever seen at our house. A few other hummingbirds (like the rufous hummingbird) occasionally migrate through Missouri but do not breed here. Here's a male ruby-throated hummingbird I photographed a few days ago. Males have a dark chin that appears ruby-red when the sunlight hits it just right.

Ruby-throated hummingbirds weigh, on average, only 0.15 ounce (about 4 grams... less than the weight of a nickel), with a wingspan of about 3.5 inches (9 cm). A hummingbird's pectoral muscles make up almost a third of the bird's weight. These muscles provide the power needed to beat their wings fifty-three times every second. In my view, this makes them superhero birds. This rapid wingbeat sounds kind of like humming, which is how hummingbirds got their name. But the humming sound is more than just the rapid wingbeat. Hummingbird wings are different from other those of other birds in the way they are anchored to the shoulders. Hummingbird wings move more like sculls in a rowing boat, with a rotating motion that allows the bird to fly forward, backwards, and sideways. They can even fly upside down. Anyway, this rotation movement of the wings helps create the humming sound.

Astoundingly, a ruby-throated hummingbird's heart beats more than 1,200 times per minute. For comparison, a human heart beats about seventy times per minute.

And finally, to further illustrate how mighty these tiny birds are, ruby-throated hummingbirds migrate from all over the eastern half of North America all the way to Mexico and central America... and back. Sometimes over 2,000 miles each way. Amazingly, when they fly over the Gulf of Mexico, they fly as far as 600 miles without stopping. Obviously, they have to bulk up on sugar before a nonstop flight like this. And during hurricane season, this can be a treacherous route.

Photo Credit:
Ruby-throated hummingbird - Stan C. Smith