Gardeners can attract hummingbirds to their backyards either by the growing of red, tube-shaped flowers like cardinal flower and bee balm, or by including hummingbird feeders. By this time, early July, the male is probably halfway on his journey back to the wintering grounds in Central America. About 18 days after hatching, the young fledge. Typically, two eggs are laid and incubated by the female for about 12 days. Nests are usually made in a deciduous tree on a branch that points downward, usually over an open area like a road or path, near a forest edge. The male is involved only for mating and takes no part in nest building or rearing of the young. It’s about the size of half a walnut shell. The outside is covered with lichen, probably to help disguise it. Constructed of thistle and plant down held together with strands of spider web, made entirely by the female. The nest and its placement are of great interest. It is not a confirmed breeder in Prospect Park, but there is that possibility in the future. I have seen nests in Queens, Suffolk and Nassau counties, and all over New York State, as well as throughout the Eastern U.S. Unfortunately the nest was predated and unsuccessful. A few years ago a hummingbird actually tried to nest in Central Park. It is a spring and summer resident here in the NYC area and a winter resident in Central America. The ruby-throated hummingbird is basically the only hummingbird in the Eastern United States. A female ruby-throated hummingbird ( Archilochus colubris) sipping nectar from scarlet bee balm ( Monarda didyma). My classmates and I were all hooked-and I had to find out more.
It didn’t have a ruby throat-I was later to learn that it was a female. This little hummingbird favored red, bell-shaped flowers, darting quickly into them and then out. Its wings beat so fast you couldn’t even see them. Where the Visitor Center entrance is now was the old Herb Garden, and that was where I saw my first ruby-throated hummingbird. I remember the day very well-a cool September Saturday. My instructor was John Yrizarry and he set me on a path of excitement and joy that some 30 years later is still with me. I started bird-watching in the fall of 1988 with a birding class given by Brooklyn Botanic Garden. Birds & Other Wildlife Birds of Brooklyn: Ruby-Throated Hummingbird
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