Saturday might be a great time to see a few migrants to Fayette County who have just flown in from Central America.
Ruby-throated hummingbirds are on their way back here from their winter quarters thousands of miles south of Connersville. One place where many live for the summer is the Mary Gray Bird Sanctuary, where the public is invited to an open house from 8 a.m.-noon.
The Bird Sanctuary, at 3499 So. Bird Sanctuary Road, is owned by Indiana Audubon. It is known for its annual Hummingbird Migration Festival in August. Between now and then, when the birds set out for a return trip to the tropics, they’ll spend a happy summer sipping nectar there.
Dr. Lina Rifai is one of the experts featured at that event. She is the only certified hummingbird bander in Indiana. She not only shares her expertise at the festival but shares her enthusiasm for the tiny birds.
“I like talking about them. I call them little nuggets, they’re a little bigger than a bumblebee but with the attitude of a T-rex,” she said.
The tiny birds are starting to come back to Indiana a little earlier each year, she said. A Google map , Hummingbird Spring Migration, shows where people have reported seeing them and there are some already near the Bird Sanctuary.
“We are still trying to understand why their migration has shifted in response to climate change,” she said. “They need to time their migration to the availability of certain plants and bugs.” Sometimes, they will follow sapsuckers north, knowing those woodpeckers will drill holes in trees where the hummingbirds can then drink sap.
But backyard birders can do a lot to make their yards more attractive for the birds, Rifai said. She shared some tips.
Native plants are important as sources of food. Rifai recommends tubular flowers that collect nectar for hummingbirds to drink. She is a fan of the red columbine but also recommends red cardinal plants, some kinds of foxglove, choral honeysuckle and trumpet honeysuckle.
Putting out plants that can provide fiber for nesting materials will help attract the birds. And leave the spiderwebs alone, as it helps them stitch together their nests.
Protecting the hummingbirds from predator animals, especially cats, is also important.
As to feeders, set out several. While bright red is the color most commonly seen, bright colors of any shade will attract the birds; the birds associate red and purple with good sources of food. She warns not to use red food coloring in the feeders.
Feeding is important. Rather than buying hummingbird nectar in a store, she recommends making it with one part white sugar to four parts water. That’s close to the optimum mix occurring naturally.
Any feeder that’s easy to clean is OK, she said. They should be cleaned two or three times a week. A trick she learned at the Bird Sanctuary is to have two sets of feeders: one set can be washed and dried out while the other set is in use. She advised against washing the feeders with chemicals and dish soap that can flavor the water and possibly hurt the birds. Instead, use white vinegar and water.
At her apartment, where her yard is tiny, she puts a roof over the feeders to help shade the sun. She uses an ant moat – a container of water – to keep ants from getting into the food.
Speaking of ants, if they get into the food, they can be dangerous, clinging to the tongue of the hummingbird and choking them. If there are ants, wash the feeder.
Ruby-throated hummingbirds are the only species that nest in Indiana. Occasionally, “vagrants” of other species fly into the state, to the delight of committed birders, who go long distances to share in a sighting.
Hummingbirds, said Rifai, are really important in nature, helping with pollination of flowering plants but also eating insets like mosquitos and gnats.
“They are the only birds that can fly backwards and hover,” she said. “And people get a lot of pleasure from seeing them.”
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