Tuesday, September 3, 2013

Ruby-throated Hummingbirds refuel at Lake Barkley State Resort Park

Ruby-throated Hummingbirds have been abundant at the park this week.  They can be seen darting from the flowers and feeders around the lodge pool as they try to fatten up before continuing their migration to Mexico and Central America.  Most of the birds that we are seeing around the park are not ones that nested here, but more likely ones that nested further north and are stopping over at the park to refuel for their migration south.  
 
A hummingbird visits a feeder at Lake Barkley State Resort Park
Ruby-throated hummingbirds weigh about the same as a penny and can double their weight in preparation for migration.  Males tend to migrate first and the females and young from this year follow shortly after.  You can keep your hummingbird feeders up through October or until the threat of freeze, and that way you can feed any stragglers headed south.  Keeping your feeders out longer will not prevent the birds from migrating, their migration is triggered by shortening day length not food availability.   


Over the next week or two we should see a dramatic decrease in the number of hummingbirds in Kentucky as more and more make the perilous journey across the Gulf of Mexico to their wintering grounds.  They will only spend a few months on their wintering grounds and then it's time to migrate back north.  We typically see them return to Kentucky in April.