With the chill in the air now, you might guess that most hummingbirds would have ditched Michigan for a more tropical place.
The Ruby-throated hummingbird is the bird you’re most likely to see in Michigan, and it has flown south, for the most part.
But Allen Chartier still wants you to keep an eye out on your backyard feeders.
He studies hummingbirds and he’s the project director for Great Lakes Hummernet.
“The chances that what you’re looking at is a Ruby-throat is about 50/50, because there are western species that start showing up.”
He says you might get a chance to see a Rufous hummingbird.
“I kind of think of these little birds as each one has certain superpowers, and the Ruby-throat’s superpower is that it’s the smallest bird that can fly across the Gulf of Mexico nonstop. Now the Rufous hummingbird’s superpower is that it’s very cold tolerant. So there are many of these birds that have stayed around in Michigan and Ohio until January and then they move on.”
He says the males are a reddish-brown color with a glowing orange throat and a white breast. But the females look a lot like Ruby-throats.
So if you see one, take a picture of it and e-mail to Chartier. He says he’ll identify the bird and use your sighting in his research.
Here’s his e-mail address: amazilia3 at gmail.com
