Sips from the floral chalice: one bird's replenishing drink
The warmth of May brings promise and seasonal residents back to eastern forests. One visitor in particular may stick out as it darts, flits, and disappears before your eyes. Being the only hummingbird that breeds in the eastern United States, it’s hard not to notice when the characteristic droning of the Ruby-throated hummingbird returns.
Our elusive Wildlife Wednesday guest this week visits from Central America, where it spends its winters, before migrating back north to grace our forests and backyards with its presence. Ruby-throated hummingbirds will feed on nectar, making them frequent garden visitors, and prefer the vibrant orange and red flowers. This preference along with their slender, long beaks, make them a perfect match with the red columbine (Aquilegia canadensis), one of our target species.
Pictured left to right: Ruby throated hummingbird visits a flower (credit: Tom Mills, @tmills), red columbine flowers (credit: Matt Tomlinson, @rarecatsnake), and the ruby-throated hummingbird showing its long, slender beak (credit: @susanannb).
Ruby-throated hummingbirds collect nectar from red columbine plants, reaching for the nectar at the rounded tips of the flowers. Even with their lengthy beaks, they must stick their heads into the flower, collecting pollen. The red columbine provides an early nectar source for returning hummingbirds, and in return, is pollinated amidst the rapid succession of beating wings.
Sources:
https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Ruby-throated_Hummingbird/id
https://hort.extension.wisc.edu/articles/eastern-red-columbine-aquilegia-canadensis/
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