May 10, 2009 - Hummer Homecoming

Welcome to the Nature Notebook.

What sounds like a squeaking bee is actually the wing beats and squeaks of a recently returned Ruby-throated Hummingbird. This is peak time for the northward migration of these tiny birds into Pennsylvania. Weather patterns, spring blooms, and hatching insects influence the arrival of these feathered dynamos. From their wintering grounds in Central America, hummingbirds embark on an arduous journey that includes crossing 500 miles of the Gulf of Mexico non-stop. To prepare for that long flight, hummingbirds gorge themselves on food, doubling their weight in a two-week period. Once in the Gulf States, hummingbirds begin moving north to their breeding grounds. Some ruby-throated hummingbirds reach Pennsylvania in April, but by now the majority will be arriving. You just might hear the buzzing wing beats and squeaks of a hummer returning home for the summer.

This is PPL's naturalist, Jon Beam, with the Nature Notebook for WVIA.