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^Reporter
MONROE OUTDOORS by Terry W. Johnson
Chances of seeing hummingbirds
January 5, 2022
in winter are up
Hummingbirds are increasingly choosing to spend time
in Monroe County in the winter, possibly because more
people are maintaining feeders for them during the cold
months. (Photo/Terry Johnson)
H ummingbirds
are among the
rarest birds we
might see in
Monroe County during the
winter. However,
according to a
report recently
released by the
National Audu
bon Society, our
chances of spot
ting one of these
aerial acrobats on
a frigid morning
from December
through Febru
ary are on the
rise.
I saw my first wintering
hummingbird in Monroe
County in 1989. This rare
winter visitor had taken
up residence at the home
of Bubba and Rosemary
Evans in Smarr. In Sep
tember of 1989,1 had
written a column in The
Reporter urging humming
bird enthusiasts to keep a
hummingbird feeder year
round.
Rosemary and Bubba did
just that and a few weeks
later Rosemary spotted a
tiny brownish humming
bird making frequent visits
to their feeder. Later, when
the bird was captured and
banded by pioneer hum
mingbird banders Bob
and Martha Sargent, it was
identified to be a rufous
hummingbird.
Back then wintering
hummers were so rare in
Georgia that the Evans’
bird was one of only three
reported in Georgia that
year.
Since that time,
the numbers of
wintering hum
mingbirds re
ported through
out the country
have dramati
cally increased.
This is particu
larly true in
JOHNSON Georgia and
the rest of the
Southeast.
It has been estimated
that some 50-100 hum
mingbirds are spotted in
Georgia each winter. Over
the past couple of decades
at least one wintering hum
mingbird has been spotted
in Monroe County each
year. As many as five hum
mingbirds have been seen
in a winter. However, some
years none are reported.
The National Audu
bon Society is basing its
claim on data collected by
volunteers participating in
the Annual Christmas Bird
Count. These data suggest
that while the total num
bers of birds seen in the
winter in North America
are trending upward, hum
mingbirds are appearing
places where they have
never been seen before.
In recent years, wintering
hummingbirds have been
reported up and down
the Atlantic Coast from
Florida northward to South
Carolina and as far north
as North Carolina’s Outer
Banks.
In Georgia and the rest of
the Southeast the hum
mingbird that most often
winters here is the rufous
hummingbird. It is also the
only western hummingbird
that has been documented
as making its winter home
in Monroe County. This
hummingbird nests from
southeastern Alaska to
northern California.Typi-
cally it winters in Mexico;
however, for decades
these migrants have been
regularly wintering in the
Southeast.
One surprising finding is
that ruby-throated hum
mingbirds are also more
frequently wintering in the
sunny South. I banded one
rubythroat that took up
residence one winter in the
yard at Nongame Wildlife
Conservation Section office
on the Rum Creek Wildlife
Management Area. That
being said, the vast major
ity of wintering rubythroats
pop up along the Geor
gia Coast and Southwest
Georgia.
Hummingbirds are
nowhere near as abundant
here in the winter as sum
mer. However, more differ
ent species of humming
birds can be seen in the
Peach State in winter than
summer. Some of the other
hummingbirds known to
winter in Georgia include
the black-chinned, Rivoli’s,
Anna’s, calliope, and Al
len’s.
There are probably a
number of reasons why
hummingbirds are win
tering more frequently
in North America. Some
suggest it is because each
year more people are
maintaining hummingbird
feeders in the winter than
ever before. Some say it
is because winters have
become milder throughout
the Southeastern United
States. Another theory
attributes the upward trend
to an increased abundance
of late-blooming nectar
plants.
One thing is for certain, if
you want to have a chance
to see a wintering hum
mingbird in your yard this
year, you must provide the
birds with food. The best
way to do that is to hang up
at least one hummingbird
feeder this winter.
If you do so, I recom
mend that that you only
partially fill it with nectar.
Also, if you want to prevent
the feeder from cracking
on a cold winter night,
bring it in when the tem
perature is below freezing.
If you fill your feeder with
a sugar solution consisting
of four parts water to one
part sugar, the nectar will
normally not freeze until
the thermometer drops to
25 °F or below.
In case you don’t want
to go to the bother of
maintaining a feeder until
spring, keep a watchful eye
on any active yellow-bellied
sapsucker holes you find
chiseled into your backyard
hardwood trees. Hum
mingbirds will drink the
sugary sap that wells up in
the tiny holes.
Who knows? This
might be the year you add
another species to the list
of hummingbirds that are
known to winter in Mon
roe County.
Terry Johnson is retired
Program Manager of the
Georgia Nongame-Endan
gered Wildlife Program. He
has written the informative
column Monroe Outdoors’
for the Reporter for many
years. His book, “A Journey
to Discovery,” is available at
The Reporter. Email him at
tjwoodduck@bellsouth. net.
Meet the 2022 Mat Dogs
JT Andrews
Nic Arnold
Auden Berry
Riley Brady
Riley Duffey
Justice Haralson
Cooper Horton
Colby Hubbard
Dylan Ivey
Eason Farmer
Monroe County is proud of our
2022 Mary Persons Mat Dogs!
Bulldogs,
7-6, host
3 games
this week
By Will Davis
publisher@mymcr.net
Mary Persons boys
basketball team im
proved to 7-6 on the
year by going 2-1 in its
Christmas Tournament
on Dec. 28-30.
The boys beat Craw
ford County 66-46 in
the consolation bracket
on Dec. 30. In the win
over Crawford, Bobby
Bunn led with 15 points,
Keshydrick Calloway
scored 11 and Jake
LaVinka added 10.
Bunn also had 6 assists
and 5 steals.
The Bulldogs were
bounced into the loser’s
bracket by falling to Rut
land 62-51 on Wednes
day, Dec. 29 despite
beating Rutland earlier
in the season.
Maury Lowe led with
22 points and LaVinka
added 12. Kham Little
led with 12 rebounds.
The boys opened the
tourney on Tuesday,
Dec. 28 beating Hamp
ton 74-60. Lowe scored
15 points, Ty Dumas
had 14, Little had 12 and
Bunn 11. Little also had
12 boards, 7 assists and
5 steals.
The Bulldogs resume
region play with three
home games in the next
week. On Tuesday, Jan.
4 MP hosts Upson-Lee
(8-4) at 7:30 p.m. Then
on Friday, Jan. 7, the
Dogs host Jackson (3-5)
at 7:30 p.m. On Satur
day, Jan. 8, MP will host
Howard (0-12) at 4:30
p.m. The Dogs go back
on the road again Tues
day, Jan. 11 at Americus.