You won't find a Hummingbird anywhere but on this side of the planet.

Ruby-throated Hummingbird

Sunbird (from Africa)

Hummingbirds are found only in this hemisphere (North & South America). In Europe, Africa, Asia and Australia their ecological niche is filled with a relatively small group of birds called Sunbirds, who also eat nectar. These larger, comparatively clumsy, Sunbirds (who may be colorful) cannot hover, fly backwards or maneuver well, like our Hummingbirds.   

 

Spring migration is underway, but…

       Roughly 50-million birds die each year due to lighted communication towers (radio, cell phone etc.), according to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Dept.  Scientists have proven that migrating birds get disoriented by towers that use steady-burning lights. Birds will circle them endlessly until they collide with something or drop from exhaustion.  But the FCC hasn’t acted yet.
The American Bird Conservancy reports that, in one case, 10,000 dead birds were found beneath one lighted tower after just one night during migration!

 

 

 

OWEN YOST, in addition to being a blogger, is a licensed Landscape Architect emeritus who has lived and worked in north Texas for over 30 years. He is a recipient of a Lifetime Achievement Award of the Native Plant Society of Texas, and is a member of the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA), International Federation of Landscape Architects, National Wildlife Federation and the Audubon Society. His office is at Yost87@charter.net in Denton.