ACES Birding: Hummingbird Studies 07/22, 07/24, & 07/31/25

ACES hosted three hummingbird studies during July 2025, two of which were morning sessions and one of which was an evening session. These studies took place at a private residence where feeders, flower beds, and most importantly, extensive surrounding native habitats attract hummingbirds in large numbers. This special setting allowed us to observe four species of hummingbirds at close range for side by side comparisons. It was an immersion experience as we spent an hour+ in the energy field of hundreds of birds. Special guest Ted Floyd, author of the new National Geographic field guides and editor of Birding magazine (American Birding Association), joined us for the July 22 and 24 events, and added interesting commentary on topics such as historic and recent range expansions of hummingbird species in the United States, new methods for estimating hummingbird abundance at sites, and migration timing of adult versus juvenile hummingbirds. And special guest Joseph Kistner joined us on the 31st to provide in-depth explanations of the physics of hummingbirds related to iridescence and flight.

We observed the two local breeding species: broad-tailed and black-chinned, and two migratory species: rufous and calliope. Highlights included our new understanding of how many individual birds likely visit this site on a daily basis: 500 to 800! We were also wowed by seeing the greatest number of rufous hummingbirds ever at this site. And we also noted a record number of calliope hummingbirds, but this was most likely due to our increased effort watching for them with Ted’s trained eye in our group. We also noted purple martins in the area. Join us in the coming weeks for several field trips focused on bird migration!