Today was the first, and earliest sighting of the ruby-throated hummingbird as one visited the nectar feeder for a sip as the salvia plants have yet to bloom.
Which brings up a question, do our visiting hummingbirds prefer flowers or nectar feeders? Lets look inside the numbers from 2020!
2020 Observations: 1382 Sightings visiting 3530 flowers
First Visit: 05/15/20
Last Visit: 09/21/20
Most Daily Sightings: 46
Longest Visit: 24 minutes
Longest Lording from Swing: 22 minutes
Beak Bump: 1x
Hand fed: Several times
Most Visited Plant: 527 visits at Salvia Plant 5
Feeding Stations
| Salvia Plants (8) | Nector Feeders (3) | Other Plants |
|---|---|---|
| 75.86% (2678 Visits) | 14.62% (516 Visits) | 9.52% (336 Visits) |
Clearly, the hummingbirds preferred the salvia plants 75% of the time as their primary source of energy!
TAXONOMY
Kingdom: Animal
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Birds (Aves)
Order: Hummingbirds, Swifts (Apodiformes)
Family: Hummingbirds (Trochilidae)