Nature News
Spring Break: Hummingbird Style
Spring Break is a time when many families and college co-eds head south for some rest and relaxation.
For hummingbirds, springtime is not break time. Rather, it's a time to fly over two thousand miles north because the existence of their species depends on it.
These miniature marvels have been migrating between North and Central America for hundreds of years, a round trip in which millions of hummingbirds instinctively participate.
They return to the same nesting area each year. Their nests are made of plant down, glued together with spider webs
and tree sap. These nests are usually located on pencil-sized limbs and are camouflaged with bits of lichen.
Female hummingbirds raise their young alone. But before you label the males as deadbeats, know this - the females don't want their counterparts around; they build their nests in locations unknown to
the males.
In northern Indiana we usually start to get reports of hummingbirds arriving by the last week of April or the first week of May. The weather seems to often determine how soon they arrive.
Stop by the store this month. We have everything you need to attract hummingbirds, including a variety of feeders and nectar.
Whether you're looking for a Mother's Day gift, or just a break of your own this spring, you don't need to look any further than your own backyard.