Life and Wildlife along the Little Buffalo River

This little male Ruby Throat Hummingbird, awakened to low temperatures of 56F and the temperature dropped to 56F by noon today, they will find temperatures as low as 44F tomorrow morning. They came late to the feeders this morning; say about 11 AM. In addition to using feeders, the birds glean dormant insects from leaves and bark, he says. “When temperatures rise, they hawk tiny insects out of the air. They also feed at sapsucker wells,” eating both the sap and trapped insects. To conserve energy, hummingbirds often go into torpor at night, and on colder days before migration to the Yucatan, Mexico ,slowing down their heart and lungs to a fraction of daytime rates. I could walk right up and touch him.  “These birds are very cold hardy” !!