by Roland D. Hallee

On Friday, May 11, my wife and I officially moved to camp for the summer. It’s always great to leave the city and live in the serenity by the lake for about five months.

And, on Sunday, we were greeted by my wife’s favorite bird, the ruby-throated hummingbird. It was nice to see the little critters back with us.

As usual, the rule of thumb for their return from the south is around the middle of May.

The ruby-throated hummingbird, Archilochus comumbris, the only hummingbird species found in Maine, winters between southern Mexico and northern Panama. During their migration south in the fall, usually mid-September, older male and female birds are better prepared for long-distance flight than first-year birds by having higher body weights and larger fuel loads.

Adults of the species are not social, other than courtship, which lasts a few minutes, they lead solitary lives. They do not migrate in flocks, so individual birds may spend the winter anywhere in this range where the habitat is to their liking. They probably go to the same place every winter.

While we’re talking about their migration, let’s put a myth to bed. The myth states that hummingbirds hitch a ride on the backs of geese as they migrate south. The legend is entertaining, but false. Hummingbirds and Canada geese migrate at different times and to different locations. It is also a fact that not all hummingbirds migrate south for the winter.

Following the mating, the male departs and the female provides all parental care.

When it’s time to return north to their breeding grounds during the spring migration, portions of the population fly from the Yucatan Peninsula, in Mexico, across the Gulf of Mexico, first arriving in Florida and Louisiana. That in itself is an amazing feat. How can such a small creature travel the 500 miles nonstop over water? It would seem the caloric energy would far exceed the hummingbird’s body weight of 0.11 ounces. Research has discovered the tiny birds can double their fat mass in preparation for their gulf crossing, then expend the entire calorie reserve from fat during the 20-hour crossing when food and water are unavailable.

During the courtship displays, they make ticking sounds with their wings, and shuttle side-to-side in flight. I once witnessed a male hummingbird during courtship by flying, rather rapidly, in a U-shaped pattern, beginning at the top of the inverted arch, flying downward, circling back up to the same height as it began, and back again, several times. It was pretty impressive to watch.

Hummingbirds have one of the highest metabolic rates of any animal. During flight, their oxygen consumption per gram of muscle tissue is approximately 10 times higher than that seen in elite human athletes.

They feed frequently during the day. When temperatures drop, especially on cold nights, they may conserve energy by entering hypothermic torpor (the process of lowering their body temperature to conserve energy).

During their hovering at feeders, the hummingbird’s wings beat up to 80 times per second. They are also the only bird that can fly backwards. Once, while my wife was sitting on the deck near a potted geranium plant, a hummingbird came to feed. It got so close she could actually feel the cold breeze coming off the bird’s fluttering wings.

Hummingbirds almost never stop. Although I have seen them sit on a perch at the feeders, they spend nearly all of their time in the air. Their legs are so small and weak, they typically can’t walk at all. But in the air, they are masters. They can, however, shuffle to move along a branch, and can scratch its head and neck with its feet.

Speaking of feeding, when is a good time to put out the feeders in the spring? In the northeastern United States, they should be ready by the end of March. Don’t wait until you see your first hummingbird, that may be well after the first ones arrive.

As unlikely as it seems, hummingbirds have predators. A variety of animals prey on hummingbirds given the opportunity. Due to their small size, they are vulnerable. However, only very swift predators can capture them, and a free-flying hummingbird is too nimble for most predators. Chief predators include sharp-shinned hawks, praying mantises, green frogs and bull frogs. Praying mantises especially have been seen to ambush adult hummingbirds at feeders on more than one occasion. Blue jays are common visitors at nests, as well as bats, squirrels and chipmunks.

The oldest known ruby-throated hummingbird to be banded was a little over nine years old. Almost all hummingbirds over seven years old are females, with males rarely surviving past five years of age. The reason probably being that males may lose weight during the breeding season due to the high energy demand of defending a territory. Also, the high demands of the migration can take its toll.

The “hummers” are back, and that definitely means summer is not far away.

Roland’s trivia question of the week:

“Game, set, match,” is an expression used to indicate a competitor has won the game in which sport?

Answer can be found here.

by Roland D. Hallee

It was an interesting weekend for me regarding unusual animal activities. The first one was actually, unknowingly, transporting a field mouse from our camp to our house. She had hidden herself in some clothes that were taken home to be laundered, jumped out of the bag and ran under the refrigerator. She is still at large, but left behind five recently-born babies. The hunt continues.

What we didn’t realize, at the time, was that the mouse had made its nest in the bag of clothes that was left in camp over the winter. Lesson learned. Won’t do that again.

The second, while preparing Sunday dinner, I actually witnessed a squirrel fall out of a tree. Never seen that before. It fell onto a wood pile, and lay motionless for a couple of minutes. I thought it was dead, but apparently was only stunned. It eventually regained its wits, shook off the dizziness, and proceeded along its way. A little bizarre to say the least. Have you ever seen a squirrel fall from a tree?

The most interesting one, though, happened at camp on Sunday. Our neighbor, while raking winter remnants of leaves and twigs, discovered a weird-looking lizard. She brought it to me, and we inspected it. It lay quietly in her hand as she slowly and gently petted it. We tried to discern what it was. She found it among some rocks that had been concealed with leaves.

It was about seven inches long, and black with bright yellow spots. It resembled a salamander – you know the little red ones we see running around under wet rocks or boards. Only, compared to those salamanders, this one look­ed like Godzilla.

Well, research revealed it to be a spotted salamander, a mole salamander that is common in the eastern United States and Canada.

For about 95 percent of the year, these shy creatures bury themselves under logs, leaves and rocks, or in burrows and tunnels made by other animals. They remain dormant during the day, emerging at night to feast on insects and other invertebrates. They spend most of their time underground. They rarely come above ground, except after a rain or for foraging and breeding. During the winter, they hibernate underground, and are not seen again until breeding season in early March to May.

Vernal pools are very important to the spotted salamander. They may visit them only for a few days each year, but they are crucial in the amphibian’s life cycle.

Although common, vernal pools are not well understood. It’s easy to pass by one of those and not even know it’s there. Vernal pools are a temporary, isolated pool of water. They typically fill in between the winter and spring and dry up by late summer. It is impossible for fish to survive in them, making the vernal pool ideal for the amphibians’ reproduction. Eggs and larvae of the amphibian are a very tasty treat for hungry fish.

Usually between mid-March and the end of April they migrate en masse to their local vernal pool. Once there, they participate in a nuptial dance so vigorous that the water around them may appear to boil. That is when mating occurs. A few days later, females will lay upwards of 100 eggs. The adults then depart to their forest hideouts, leaving the young to fend for themselves.

Within the northeastern United States, several states have already listed the spotted salamander as a species of special concern. This is mostly because many vernal pools, especially in urban areas, are being destroyed by development. This puts the spotted salamander in peril.

The spotted salamander is approximately 6 – 10 inches long. They are stout, with a wide snout. The main color is black with two uneven rows of yellow spots running from the top of the head to the tip of the tail. The spots closest to the top of the head are more orange, and change to more yellow by the end of the tail.

The diet of the adult spotted salamander includes crickets, worms, insects, spiders, slugs, centipedes, and millipedes.

The little guy my neighbor disturbed seemed to be a little groggy. Maybe it’s because he was roused from his day time siesta. She put it back where she found it, hopefully, no worse for the wear.

Roland’s trivia question of the week:

In 2009, the Red Sox recorded a MLB first when they had four Japanese-born players on their roster. How many can you name?

Answer can be found here.