Ruby-Throated Hummingbird Habitat

The ruby-throated hummingbird is a rapid-flying bird that can go backwards and vertical as it seeks the nectar of flowers. It has the largest breeding area of any hummingbird in North America, and is the only kind on the continent that will breed east of the Mississippi River. Its habitat must contain certain features the bird requires to find food. This is a species that you can attract to your backyard when you duplicate the conditions of its habitat.

  1. Types

    • The prairies of western Canada and the deciduous forests of eastern North America are two of the types of major habitats of the ruby-throated hummingbird. The bird will live in old abandoned farmlands, orchards, meadows full of flowers, the edges of streams and along the margins of woodlands. The winter habitat in southern locales includes citrus groves, dry forests and scrublands.

    Requirements

    • Certain kinds of flowers, such as bee balm, jewelweed, trumpet creeper and salvia are the favorites of hummingbirds. Any habitat suitable for the bird will contain flowers of this nature. Brightly colored blooms that show up well against their backgrounds will get the bird's attention. They typically flock to red and orange flowers.

    Attracting Hummingbirds

    • A homemade habitat for the ruby-throated hummingbird would include plants the bird visits for food as well as a convenient source of water. Planting species that bloom at different intervals so the area has flowers throughout the breeding season while the bird is around. Trees like yellow poplar, red buckeye and crabapple and shrubs like Rose of Sharon and butterfly bush will give you a diverse selection. The bird also likes wildflowers like bleeding hearts, day lilies and cardinal flowers.

    Nesting Habitat

    • In eastern parts of Canada, the female ruby-throated hummingbird will constuct her nest in red spruce, sugar maples or birch trees. In the Southeast, the female looks for habitats such as mixed pine forests to nest. In the eastern United States and the southern part of the bird's range in the central part of the nation, the bird prefers to build in open woodlands, apple orchards and mixed hardwood forests.

    Time Frame

    • In the latter part of February, the ruby-throated hummingbird begins the long flight back to its summer breeding habitats. Most will cross over the Gulf of Mexico as they head back to the United States. The males usually migrate southward in August on a route that follows the Texas coast down to the Yucatan peninsula. The females will head south in the middle part of September and the younger hummingbirds usually will wait until first frost to leave.