11/1/15
BIO 4416-L01
IA: Nathan Custer
Which Food Choice Attracts Hummingbirds After a Major Drought? Artificial vs. Natural
Introduction
Two species of hummingbirds that breed during the summer in Texas are the Black-chinned Hummingbird and the Ruby-throated Hummingbird and, throughout the year, many other species are migrating through this area. The Black-chinned Hummingbird (Archilochus alexandri) is a small green-backed hummingbird with a few distinct colors except for thin strips of purple bordering its black chin. The Black-chinned Hummingbird migrates from Central America to the Western half of North America during the spring and summer time for breeding purposes. The Black-chinned Hummingbirds hover to feed from flowers and artificial feeders, perch to watch for other hummingbird competitors to chase off and search for flying insects to eat. The Ruby - throated Hummingbirds (Archilochus colubris) have a gleam of green and red, this small hummingbird has a beak that curves somewhat downward and has short wings than the Black-chinned hummingbird. Ruby-throated Hummingbird migrates from Central America to the Eastern and Central part of North America during the spring and summer time for breeding purposes. They are tiny, accurate at flying, and they can …show more content…
The first items that will need to be purchased are 12 total hummingbird feeders, some of these will be placed in the field and the remaining ones will be used later if they are needed. The next items will be game cameras which are placed at the 6 different locations to observe hummingbirds for weeks at a time. Then a pair of binoculars will need to be purchased to be used to scout out potential plot areas. Finally, the gas that will need to be purchased so that I can travel out to the 6 different plots to observe what was on the game cameras as well as replace broken feeders or refill them if need