Walker Nature Center
A LOOK INSIDE • Calendar 4 • Kids’ Corner 6 • Attracting Butterflies 7 • Nature Camps 8
Nature Notes JUNE By Sharon Gurtz
• • • •
Purple Coneflower, Butterfly Weed and Blue Flag Iris bloom. Look and listen for young Barred Owls. Possumhaw and Maple Leaf Viburnums bloom. American Toads mature and leave the water.
JULY • • • •
Fireflies and bats are active in the night sky. Black Rat Snakes lay eggs. Cardinal Flower and Sweet Pepperbush bloom. Praying Mantis and Katydids are common.
AUGUST • • • •
Eastern Box Turtle young hatch. Viburnums have purple berries. Goldenrods and asters bloom. Annual Cicadas produce loud sounds.
BRANCHING OUT The Buzz on Hummingbirds – Summer Breeders and Voracious Feeders By Susan Sims
Summer is here! The sun is bright; lush vegetation abounds; and one of the smallest birds is ready to start a family. The Ruby-throated Hummingbird (Archilochus colubris) is the only hummingbird commonly found in eastern North America, where it summers for the breeding season. It’s easy to spot the bejeweled beauty zipping through the air, humming along, flitting from flower to flower in preparation for breeding. The energetic birds migrate from Mexico and Central America to North America in spring, completing a 20-hour trek across the Gulf of Mexico. They are iridescent emerald green, and the males are distinguished by their red jeweled throat patches, or gorgets. At a mere 3 grams, the bird is tiny to say the least, yet it certainly packs a wallop in terms of ability and traits. Hummingbirds are unique among avian species because of their tremendous flight adaptations.
Their wings beat up to 70 beats a second – more than any other bird. They can fly forward, backward and hover in one spot with precision, putting other birds and even machines to shame. In fact, their ability to hover was proven to be more efficient than mini-helicopter drones by 20 percent. But their amazing physical adaptations don’t end there. Muscles make up 30 percent of their body weight, akin to an average sized man having 60 pounds of pure muscle. If that’s not impressive, then check out the hummingbird’s extreme cardiovascular abilities. Their resting heart rate is 225 beats a minute, which increases to over 1,200 beats a minute in flight. To support this rapid metabolism, the birds will consume two times their body weight in food daily. Continued on page 2
Summer 17 Volume Nineteen