The Hummingbird Messenger

November 2023

The Spectacular Volcano Hummingbird © Carole Turek - The Hummingbird Spot

Volcano Hummingbird

Our board member, Carole Turek, says she loves the Volcano Hummingbird because of its unique, ashy blue gorget. Click below to enjoy a short PBS video featuring these denizens of highland pastures in Costa Rica and Panama.

Click here for PBS Volcano Hummingbird Video

A Note from Alice

As Thanksgiving Day approaches, we all take some time to reflect on our blessings — on the many things we are so grateful to have in our lives. And one of those blessings, no doubt, is hummingbirds. Every day, in some way, I take some joy in observing or thinking about their antics, their beauty, their intelligence, and their miraculous physiology.

For me, it also a blessing to be Executive Director of the International Hummingbird Society, connecting with members and donors from all over the world. I love hearing your stories, such as the man who has more than 300 Anna’s Hummingbirds overwinter in his snowy yard in Western Canada. Or the musicians who find hummingbirds drawn to their music as they play outdoors. Or the reports of hummingbirds “knocking” at the window when a feeder runs dry.

Your financial support of the Society is also a deeply appreciated blessing. We count on your gifts of donations and membership fees to keep the Society going. These gifts enable us to share helpful and interesting information with you, to host the amazing Sedona Hummingbird Festival, and to support international conservation projects such as the American Bird Conservancy’s work to increase protected habitat for the endangered Marvelous Spatuletail hummingbird.

This year, we established new benefits to add value to your membership, including the limited edition Marvelous Spatuletail microfiber lens cloth and the 25 percent discount for “The Wonderful World of Hummingbirds” course offered by Cornell Lab of Ornithology. We really do need your support — we cannot operate without it. As the year-end giving season gets underway, please donate to or join the International Hummingbird Society. Or give a donation on behalf of someone else, or a gift membership. Your donations are tax-deductible and help spread joy in the world. After all, hummingbirds bring joy wherever they go.

In this issue, please enjoy our stories and video links. Make sure to read to the end to enjoy the gift of an original song written and performed by a fellow hummingbird lover, Dd Schacht. Happy Thanksgiving!

A Great Opportunity for Support

Giving Tuesday (always the Tuesday after Thanksgiving) is one of the largest donation days of the year. We would love your ongoing support. It's because of you that we are able to keep hosting the Sedona Hummingbird Festival, supporting conservation projects, and sharing important information about how to help and celebrate hummingbirds. You don't have to wait until Giving Tuesday, you can donate now!

Be a part of Giving Tuesday

Give the Gift of Membership

this Holiday Season

Giving the gift of membership to the International Hummingbird Society is a great way to spread hummingbird cheer this year. With our new incentives available, you'll be sure to bring a smile to your hummingbird lover's face. Click button below and spread hummingbird joy!

Membership

Click here for calendars

Scientists Learn a Secret to Hummingbirds’ Remarkable Agility

Check out the amazing agility of a hummingbird passing through a hole.

In one extreme, the birds swept back their wings against their body and paused their flapping to rapidly pass through the aperture like a bullet.

An article recently published in The Guardian reports on important research in hummingbird problem-solving and flight capabilities, conducted by scientists at the University of California, Berkeley. The article also features an amazing video of the hummingbirds flying through tiny holes.

Experts say the findings shed light on the longstanding conundrum of how hummingbirds in the wild manage to pass through dense foliage to reach nectar-rich flowers or tasty insects, despite being unable to tuck their wings in like other birds.

Click on the button below to read the full article:

Secrets of Hummingbirds' Agility

Hummers Heated Delight

Winter is fast approaching. Stay ahead of the cold with Hummers Heated Delight. This innovative feeder will help those of you that host the Anna's Hummingbird over the winter season. Just plug it in and keep your nectar at a pleasant temperature for your hummers.

Hummers Heated Delight

"Like a Hummingbird" Song

We recently received a gift from Dd Schacht, and we wanted to share it with you. Dd is a retired sociology instructor, currently self-employed as a pilates teacher. Dd tells us, "Among my hobbies and interests are singing/song writing, and gardening. I often sing or hum while doing other things, such as cooking, driving, and gardening. One of my sisters teased me about my frequent humming until I told her that humming is associated with a number of health benefits, including reducing stress, inducing calmness, and enhancing sleep as well as lowering heart rate and blood pressure and producing neurochemicals such as oxytocin, the 'love' hormone. My love of humming and my appreciation of hummingbirds, which I enjoy watching in my garden, came together to create the song, Like a Hummingbird. I share my original songs on my YouTube channel so that my family, including 9 grandchildren, have access to them."

Now you can access Dd's song, Like a Hummingbird. Just click on the video link below. We think you will end up humming it, and maybe enjoy it as a group sing-along this Thanksgiving. It is irresistible and joyful — thank you Dd!