Birds of the Upper Cumberland Region: Species Accounts

Ruby-throated Hummingbird (Archilochus colubris)

Abundance: Fairly Common during spring, summer, and fall, sometimes becoming Common during late summer at locations with abundant flowers and/or feeders; recorded in all Regional counties (Map of UCR Distribution); the Regional trend for the breeding population is probably stable (see also Regional Bird-Monitoring Plan).

Status: Summer Resident; photographs.

Regional High Count and FBC/FBB High Count: 137 (20 September 2008; Putnam County [FBC], Tennessee; m. ob.); SBC/SBB High Count: 51 (12 May 2007; Putnam County [SBC], Tennessee; m. ob.).

Regional Extreme Dates:

    Early Spring: 28 March 2007 (DeKalb County, Tennessee; John Milligan fide Michele Ramsey).

    Late Fall: 17 November 2011 (Putnam County, Tennessee; Betty Bright).

    Note: Regional dates of earliest reported spring arrival and latest reported fall departure for the years 2002–2011 follow:

Breeding: Confirmed (Recent).  The nest of this hummingbird is difficult to find, partly because it is tiny, as extremely well illustrated in this photo (Wally Brines; Walnut Grove Rd., White County, Tennessee; August 2007).

Habitat: x

YardWatch Results 2003 and 2004: Registered on 68 (of 125 possible) monthly check-lists during 2003 and on 103 (of 206 possible) check-lists during 2004, reflecting the fact that this hummingbird is Common in the Region in yards and neighborhoods, primarily because so many observers and members of the public put out feeders to attract it or plant flowering vegetation that is attractive to it.

Foray Results: A summary of data from UCR Forays follows (to view a map displaying foray data for a county or a sub-Region for this species, click on the name of an underlined county or state below):

* Because some foray blocks fall into two or three counties, the total of blocks in the Kentucky or Tennessee portions of the Region is less than the sum of the blocks in the counties of each portion of the Region; similarly, because some blocks fall into both states, the total of blocks for the Region is less than the sum of the blocks in the two states.

Remarks: Albino individuals were photographed in Barren County, Kentucky (July–August 2006), and DeKalb County, Tennessee (October 2009).

    A widespread misconception about this species involves the issue of when to take down feeders in the fall, with many folks believing that it is harmful to the hummingbirds to leave feeders up during cold weather.  Nothing could be more erroneous.  Hummingbirds that linger into the late fall remain because they have not developed sufficient fat reserves to make the southward migration.  They can only develop such reserves if they have a food supply.  Therefore, leaving feeders up into late fall and even into and throughout the winter is extremely beneficial to any lingering Ruby-throats (and even more beneficial to any western hummingbirds that might be around). Always leave one feeder up until the end of November; watch the level of fluid in the feeder carefully; if it goes down at all, leave it up until the fluid level has not changed for at least several weeks or a month.

Check-lists of Birds for the Counties of the UCR

Check-lists of the birds of each county of the Upper Cumberland Region may be viewed by clicking on the links below. For each county, there are two check-lists: one list that shows the species that have been observed and where possible documented in the county within the larger list for the entire Region; and one list that includes only the species observed in the county with annotations for the date and observers for at least one sighting (the ultimate goal of the latter list will be to include annotations for the very first known Regional observation of each species in that county; this goal is probably one that will take many years to complete, if completion is even a possibility). To see if the species discussed in this species account has been observed in a county, click below or click on the link for the Map of UCR Distribution near the top of the page.

Check-lists of Birds for Some Public Access Birding Sites of the UCR

Check-lists of the birds of some public access birding sites within the Upper Cumberland Region may be viewed via the links below. To see if the species dealt with in this species account has been observed within any of these sites, click on the appropriate link below. See the pages for each county within the Gazetteer for links to additional smaller public access birding sites with check-lists in progress.

Literature Cited