The hummingbirds return

Male ruby-throated hummingbirds have a neck patch that flashes red. — Courtesy of Songbird Essentials

It's time once again to welcome the return of ornithology’s tiniest, most magical bird – the ruby-throated hummingbird.

Here in Central New Jersey, I generally can count on seeing the first males arrive between April 28 and 30. You can track where they are as they migrate to summer breeding grounds at the website Journey North.

Contrary to what you might think, ruby-throats are reasonably common in New Jersey wherever food and shelter are available. Like annual flowers, these jewel-toned little birds live among us roughly from late April to late September, sipping nectar, raising young and amusing their human fans.

At my house, you can sit on the back porch and watch the hummers come and go at a small feeder hanging from the eaves not a foot from the screens. I pretend to have the power to charm birds from the trees (I am the Garden Goddess, after all), but in reality the trick is to have favorable habitat, abundant food sources and lots of patience.

A bird in hand is better than two in the bush, and a hummer at a feeder in sight of a comfortable chair is better than two whizzing around in the dense vegetation where you can't really see them. It doesn't hurt a bit to load your garden up with plants the little guys favor, but for real enjoyment, the key is to hang and maintain a feeder.

Many who have done just that are frustrated by their seeming inability to lure in these little birds, no bigger than your pinkie. It actually took several years to get a steady stream of hummingbirds coming my way, but success builds on success.

The tiny hummingbird, with a brain no larger than a knot in a thread, remembers food sources and will return to them year after year. They are said to investigate every square foot of their territory for food and are attracted to bright color, so hanging a few red ribbons near your new feeder may help them find it.

My favorite Perky Pet feeder. ($10). Yellow bee guards are helpful..

There's a bit of work involved in proper feeder maintenance -- you have to cook up the sugar solution and keep the feeders scrupulously clean. For starters, get your feeder up at the beginning of the season (mid April to mid May), when the hummer arrive hungry on their spring migration, and at the end of the season (August through mid September) when the birds are tanking up for their flight south.

This is when the hummingbirds are moving through in larger numbers, heading for the northern reaches of their range in Maine and Canada, or their wintering grounds in Central and South America. Catch them at their most vulnerable, and you may find your place is a regular stop on the migratory route.

Although you will have fewer birds around in summer, these are generally the resident birds breeding in your immediate vicinity. If you can attract these, you can build a clientele among the fledglings who will learn the location of your feeder by observing Mom. Hopefully, the young ones will also keep you in mind when they return next year.

Feeding through the summer requires diligent maintenance. The best feeder is a small one (I use the smallest Perky Pet feeder with four plastic "flowers”) since there's no point in putting out more than a few ounces of fluid until it is consumed. You can't leave the solution there indefinitely as it can ferment, becoming toxic.

Count on dumping unused solution, cleaning the feeder and refilling with fresh syrup every four days in hot weather. Take the feeder down if you'll be away longer than that. Hummingbirds are acclimated to flowers that are nectar-rich one day, dry and empty the next, and leaving them without artificial food is better than poisoning them with spoiled syrup.

I cook my nectar up in the microwave, adding 1/4 cup ordinary table sugar to one cup of water in a Pyrex pitcher and zapping for two minutes. No red food coloring is required. Store the excess in the refrigerator, where it will keep for about a week.

Hummer nest and eggs. — Linda Gardner/Flickr

In a new and very convenient innovation, I have two identical feeders this year. When the nectar is depleted or too old, I fill the clean feeder in my kitchen and swap it for the one hanging outdoors -- which comes in to be scrubbed and left ready for the next exchange.

If your fluid is disappearing (and your feeder is not leaking) but you don't see birds, you may not be watching at the right time of day. Hummingbirds feed heavily in the early morning and during the last hour of daylight, so maintain a watch at those times. One factor in your favor is that the birds need to eat as often as every 10 minutes to maintain their very high metabolism -- they only survive the night by going into "torpor," a state of greatly reduced breath and heartbeat rates.

Generally hummers will feed one at a time, arriving on a blur of wings as if appearing out of thin air. When two visit at the same time, expect fireworks, since these are the most anti-social of critters, spurning the notion of flocks or even mating pairs. Two birds at the feeder equals a lot of indignant squeaking and flaring of tails, and often you will see scenes of aerial combat as one tries to run the other off.

Mating doesn't look too different, with the male knocking the female out of the air, or driving her to a secluded place in the evergreens. After doing the deed, brutish and brief, the birds fly their separate ways and the female raises her brood alone.

Only mature males have the dark throat that flashes jewel red when caught by the sunlight. This isn’t pigment by the way; the gorget feathers are prismatic, and require strong sunlight at the right angle to reveal the ruby color. Females have a plain white chest and throat and a somewhat longer bill. Immature males look like a female with a five o'clock shadow, a darker area on the throat where the ruby patch will appear a few molts from now.

Ruby throats are the only hummer that breeds east of the Mississippi, so you don't need a field guide to make the ID. Occasionally you will hear of the odd sighting of other species -- but that's rare enough to make the news.

An active hummingbird feeder offers hours of at-home entertainment, something we could use now. Give it a try. Godspeed and good luck.