Red Alert for Ruby-Throated Hummingbirds

Friday, May 4th, 2012 by P. Allen Smith, 4 comments

In honor of National Migratory Bird Day on May 12, I just wanted to alert you that in Arkansas, this is Ruby-Throated Hummingbird Migration Time!

I have been waiting and watching because the Rubies should be back in Arkansas any day now. Usually they start arriving in early April, and sometimes they come as early as mid-to-late March and then leave again in September or October.

This year, for some reason they’re a little late but I am busy preparing my hummingbird feeders because once they’re back – they’re hungry from their flight up from the south.

Ruby-Throated Hummingbirds normally spend the winter in Central America and their trek north is an amazing one. These tiny flyers manage to fly non-stop across the Gulf of Mexico, traveling up to 2500 miles each fall on their way to nest. From March through May they pass through the eastern two thirds of Texas. Some swing up through Cuba and Florida, probably with a stop at a resort hotel in Orlando, you can bet!

Other brave, strong Rubies barrel straight across the Gulf of Mexico. The birds reach the southern Gulf coast in late February and early March. Later migrants fly to breeding grounds further north so their arrival time to their nesting grounds coincides with when their food source plants are blooming. Only the Ruby-throated Hummingbird breeds east of the Mississippi River. The tiny little newborn hummingbird is about the size of a honeybee, their egg, the size of a pea.

Conversely, their departure times corresponds with the end of the blooming period for those nutrient plants. The fall migration lasts from late July until late October in the southern states.

Nearly all Ruby-Throated Hummingbirds fly south of Mississippi for the winter. Ten other species can be seen in the region during winter so it’s a good idea to leave at least one feeder out.

Amazingly, the Ruby-throat beats its wings 40-80 times a second, and maintains an average flight speed of 30 mph while their escape speeds can reach 50 mph. No wonder they can outdistance Marge my cat!

Wordless Wednesday: Sunshine for a Rainy Day

Wednesday, February 15th, 2012 by P. Allen Smith, 1 comment

Ah, The Good Old Days

Monday, August 1st, 2011 by P. Allen Smith, 54 comments

Looks like store displays have made the change from vacation fun to back to school. Out with the flip-flops and beach towels and in with the backpacks and spiral notebooks. Yep, there are just a few more weeks for kids to enjoy the freedom of summer and it's got me to wondering just how their days will be spent. Back in the day you'd have found me hitting the streets with the neighborhood kids looking for something to get into. We were "running wild" as my grandmother used to say.

If I could turn back the birthday clock and be 10 again for a day there are a few childhood joys that I'd find missing here in the 21st century.

• Roaming freely around the neighborhood without concern. We were out the door in the morning, back for meals and out until bedtime. The words "I'm bored" always got the response, "go outside."
• Neighborhood creeks. There was a creek within walking distance of our house. It was a favorite haunt for cooling off and collecting watery things like tadpoles, crawfish and bream.
• Fireflies. Where did all the fireflies go? Except on a recent trip to New York state I haven't seen a single one this summer. We used to make lanterns by placing fireflies in Mason jars, which may be why there aren't any around anymore.
• Shopping at five and dime variety stores. I used to love to get cleaned up and head downtown with my grandparents to the Ben Franklin or Lay's. I could spend an eternity browsing through all the treasures and art supplies at these stores.
• Rear-facing station wagon seats. Claiming shotgun was never an issue when one of these was available. Oh the joy of sitting backwards looking out the big, often open, rear window. It also helped that the back of the station wagon was out of parental reach. Heaven was getting that seat all to yourself on a road trip.

What would you miss from "the good old days" if you were 10 today?