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BirdingFeaturedPhotography

They unlock the Earth’s treasury of hummingbirds. Does it help or hurt the birds?

by Anders Gyllenhaal February 10, 2022
written by Anders Gyllenhaal

Mashpi, Ecuador

     We’ve spent so many hours chasing hummingbirds over the years that I was caught by surprise when one of these tiny birds turned the tables and landed on my outstretched hand. Light as a penny at about three grams, this curious little creature felt like nothing more than a puff of air. It sat staring at me as if it had a question to ask.

Violet-tailed Sylph. Top photo is a Blue-chested Hummingbird.

     We were midway up the Andes mountains of Ecuador on a swing through one of the richest parts of the world for all kinds of birds, from toucans to tanagers to Andean Condors. Yet nothing came close to  the treasury of hummingbirds. More than 130 species — the most found anywhere on Earth — fill the rainforests, fields and hills of northern Ecuador.

     In places, there are so many hummingbird feeders that the frenzied birds can mistake you for a plant, and it turned out the bird I encountered did have a question. “He’s trying to see if you’re a flower,” said Juan Carlos Crespo, a biologist who works with the Jocotoco Foundation that was leading our group.

Crowned Woodnymph

The sheer breadth of hummingbirds here is head-spinning. They come in every size and color, some with long trailing tails that end in tiny rudders, some with curiously long peaks that stretch the lengths of their bodies. But it’s the plumage that is most impressive. Depending on the angle, the tones change in the light, some as bright as neon, each new variety seemingly more beautiful than the last.

     We were traveling in Ecuador to gather material for our upcoming book on conservation work across the Americas. We tagged along with the leaders of the American Bird Conservancy as the nonprofit works to protect key species and land across South America. But there was always time to do a little birding, so we stopped at a string of what you could only call bird gardens, where local guides have set up a different kinds of feeders to draw birds, including some of the most elusive species you otherwise would never see. 

Black-tailed Trainbearer

      It was impossible to keep up with all the species without constant coaching from the veterans traveling with us. In one stop, the birds taking off and leaving from one giant round feeder looked like a small airport, as if they were used to taking turns at the hummingbird bar. Here’s a video of that scene:

Andean Emerald

      Guides have figured out what kinds of foods the birds like best and learned ways of attracting a rainbow of tanagers, toucans, and parrots. We ran into disagreements about whether these practices were helpful or harmful to the birds. On the one hand, it builds public support for conservation. On the other, does it make birds rely on food from humans? 

      Crespo, who has researched birds in North and South America, said he was bothered by the spread of feeders since sometimes dozens of them are spread around lodges, hotels and bird parks. He says feeders aren’t in themselves a problem, so long as there’s not too many. “There need to be some rules about them,” he said.

Rufous-tailed Hummingbird

        Paul Greenfield, one of Ecuador’s leading bird artists who’s helped build a number of conservation foundations across the country, said he dismissed the concerns about harming the birds by feeding them. He’s impressed with the spread of small entrepreneurs. “You see them everywhere,” he said. “Now there’s more people interested in birds.”

        Mike Parr, president of the American Bird Conservancy, said the trip made him wonder why the U.S. doesn’t do a better job of experimenting with how to let people get closer to birds. “We haven’t adopted this kind of approach in the United States. Most of the refuges, you have to look at birds through a telescope from a long way away,” he said. “Instead of bringing people closer to wildlife, we’re sort of keeping people away.”

Booted Racket Tail

 

Collared Inca

      We ended up thinking the birds benefitted far more than they were set back. (Here are a couple of links that explore the issues behind feeding birds — including Audubon Society guides on backyard feeders — as well as the use of playback of songs and calls to attract birds.) In a country with so many species, the bird parks and lodges touch just the smallest fraction of the birds that are out there. Some studies even show that where hummingbird feeders are plentiful, the overall pollination goes up in the region, a sign of nature’s health.  We came home thinking that other countries should be following Ecuador’s leads. 

     Hummingbirds have always been among our favorite birds, and we’ve searched out as many of North America’s 15 or so species in our travels, mostly in the Southwest. Some of the most popular Flying Lessons posts have been about hummingbirds, including this one about the battles that break out around some feeders, and this one about how some hummingbirds have stopped migrating because of changes in climate. But we’d never seen anything like Ecuador’s breadth of hummingbird species. Here’s a look at some of the species we saw across the northern portion of Ecuador.
Sapphire-vented Puffleg
Crowned Woodnymph
Buff-winged Starfrontlet
Great Sapphirewing
Booted Rackettail
Collared Inca
Velvet-purple Coronet
Purple-bibbed Whitetip
Purple-throated Woodstar
Rufous-tailed Hummingbird
Shining Sunbeam
Mountain Velvetbreast
Collared Inca
Rackettail (female)
Sword-billed Hummingbird

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   

 

 

February 10, 2022 12 comments
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Birding researchMigration

Hummingbirds on the move: Evolution on fast-forward

by Anders Gyllenhaal December 31, 2019
written by Anders Gyllenhaal

A few weeks ago, dozens of readers from around the country shared their hummingbird stories on our Facebook page after we ran a post on the growing numbers of the tiny birds that are skipping migration and staying in the U.S. for the winter.

Birdwatchers from Michigan to Texas, Seattle to North Carolina reported seeing the birds stay longer into the fall, and sometimes through the winter in the warmer states. Randell Fleet of Houston seemed to speak for everyone when he said: “I hope they’ll be OK.’’

Ruby-throated Hummingbird

The outpouring made us want to know more about what was going on. So we talked with scientists and researchers around the country who specialize in hummingbirds. The story that emerged, which is running in The News & Observer of Raleigh this week, is not just about the changing migration of hummingbirds.

It’s also a look at modern-day evolution on a fast-forward speed as birds struggle to adjust to their altered environments. The story focuses on North Carolina, because this is where a lot of the action is. But hummingbirds, particularly Ruby-throated and Rufous, are starting to stay the winter all along the southern Atlantic coast and down through the Gulf states.

Hummingbird researcher Susan Campbell explaining how she bands the tiny birds

“It’s a really fascinating subject,’’ said Scott Weidensaul, an author and researcher who’s one of the country’s leading experts on hummingbirds, “one that ties together a couple of important threats, including climate change and the adaptability of birds in the face of change.’’

One part of the story we found particularly intriguing, which we couldn’t delve too deeply into in The N&O piece, is how this break with the migration pattern places a spotlight on exactly how birds adjust – and how a pivot like this can play out for generations to come.

Nobody can say when the first hummingbirds decided to skip the long and arduous fall trip to the tropics. I loved the comment by the Audubon Society’s Geoffrey LeBaron, head of the Christmas bird count, who said: “If you don’t have to fly across the Gulf of Mexico, why do it?’’

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December 31, 2019 0 comment
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Bird of the WeekMigrationPhotography

Nature’s jewels: Ruby-throated Hummingbirds on the move

by Anders Gyllenhaal August 30, 2019
written by Anders Gyllenhaal

The statistics for Ruby-throated Hummingbirds are almost as stunning as a close-up look at their iridescent plumage.

Zeroing in on the male hummingbird

Their wings can flap up to 80 times a second. They weigh about 3 grams – a wisp of a bird at a tenth of an ounce. They can go from breakneck speed to a full stop in an instant.

And when they do hang suspended in midair, their wings a blur of motion, the sight is one of nature’s most precious moments.  It evaporates as suddenly as it appears, making the encounters all the more intriguing.

The Ruby-throated is one of 300 hummingbird species worldwide, only a few dozen of which are in the U.S. and Canada. The Ruby-throated Hummingbird is the dominant species in the Eastern United States. It’s plentiful and not particularly shy.  So these spectacular hummingbirds are not hard to spot, particularly this time of year.

In late summer, as the hummingbirds are preparing to migrate halfway across the hemisphere, they are in the midst of a feeding frenzy to bulk up for the journey. They consume their entire weight in nectar each day, which the Audubon Society calculated was the equivalent of a human drinking 18 gallons of milk.

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August 30, 2019 8 comments
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In-depth stories

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Here are links to some of the deeper stories we’ve written for publications from the Washington Post to The Miami Herald exploring the frontiers of birding and avian research. This story for the Post was about the role of every-day birders in creating the largest citizen science project in the world. This piece for The Herald looked at the surprising strength of the Roseate Spoonbill in the midst of climate change. And this article and video for The News & Observer and Charlotte Observer is about how some adventurous hummingbirds are abandoning their migration and staying the winter in the U.S. Our latest story in the Washington Post is about a rescue mission for the imperiled Florida Grasshopper Sparrow. 

Miami Herald’s Spoonbill package

Some favorite birds

Barred Owl Orlando, Florida
Copyright by Anders and Beverly Gyllehhaal
Ruby-throated Hummingbird West Stockbridge, Massachusetts
Copyright by Anders and Beverly Gyllehhaal
Hairy Woodpecker Prime Hook Refuge, Delaware
Copyright by Anders and Beverly Gyllehhaal
Prairie Warbler Cape May, New Jersey
Copyright by Anders and Beverly Gyllehhaal
Red-bellied Woodpecker St. Joe Overstreet Landing, Florida
Copyright by Anders and Beverly Gyllehhaal
Eastern Wood-Peewee Rock Creek Park, Washington, DC
Copyright by Anders and Beverly Gyllehhaal
Eastern Meadowlark Kissimmee, Florida
Copyright by Anders and Beverly Gyllehhaal
Black-throated Blue Warbler Raleigh, North Carolina
Copyright by Anders and Beverly Gyllehhaal
Northern Flicker Alexandria, Virginia
Copyright by Anders and Beverly Gyllehhaal

Birds in Flight

Roseate Spoonbill BIRDS IN FLIGHT FELLSMERE, FLORIDA OSPREY BIRDS IN FLIGHT Orlando, Florida American Flamingo BIRDS IN FLIGHT Rio Largartos, Mexico COPYRIGHT BY ANDERS AND BEVERLY GYLLENHAAL EASTERN MEADOWLARK BIRDS IN FLIGHT KISSIMMEE, FLORIDA Red-shouldered Hawk BIRDS IN FLIGHT Orlando, Florida COPYRIGHT BY ANDERS AND BEVERLY GYLLENHAAL PALM WARBLER BIRDS IN FLIGHT ORLANDO, FLORIDA BLUE-GRAY GNATCATCHER BIRDS IN FLIGHT LORTON, VIRGINIA BROWN PELICAN BIRDS IN FLIGHT ASSATEAGUE, MARYLAND COPYRIGHT BY ANDERS AND BEVERLY GYLLENHAAL WOOD STORK BIRDS IN FLIGHT MELBOURNE, FLORIDA COPYRIGHT BY ANDERS AND BEVERLY GYLLENHAAL

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“There are a hundred times more turkeys than when I was a kid. Fake BS to shake down donations and public funding.” -Vance Shearer

 

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About us

About us

We’re two journalists who’ve traded in our work in publishing and syndicated writing for following and photographing the birds. We live in Raleigh, NC, but are traveling the country every chance we get -- and are sharing the lessons birds are teaching us and the photos we take along the way.

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Why Flying Lessons

This website is about what we can learn from the birds around us. Some of the lessons are obvious, such as the way birds can be a barometer of environmental changes. Others are subtle, like the way you, as an observer, have to adapt to navigate the world in which birds operate. We ourselves still have much to learn about birding, a late-in-life pursuit that has captivated us in retirement. But we decided to start writing about the lessons and teachings as we’re finding our way, in hopes that our storytelling and photography will help to celebrate a captivating element of nature.

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