Tiny ruby-throated hummingbirds makes their way south every year through the Coastal Bend starting around Labor Day. The Rockport-Fulton Chamber of Commerce holds a festival in their honor every fall. This year’s celebration is Sept. 16-19. iStock image
Backyard bird feeders filled with simple sugars to sweeten hummingbird migration
In preparation for the arrival in the Coastal Bend of the smallest migrating bird in the world, the Rockport-Fulton Chamber of Commerce is filling feeders with simple sugar for its 33rd annual HummerBird Celebration on Sept. 16-19. Weighing less than a nickel and flapping its wings at 90 beats per second, a hummingbird quickly burns calories. The flowers — and feeders — in the Corpus Christi area help provide the needed extra energy for the long migration to Mexico and South America.
Ruby-throated hummingbirds inhabit and breed in the eastern United States. They begin to migrate south around Labor Day. That means that the birds coming from Wisconsin, Michigan, New York, and Maine might be only halfway to their destination when they reach Corpus Christi, Port Aransas, and Rockport-Fulton in mid-September.
To recognize their trek, the Rockport-Fulton Chamber of Commerce encourages residents and short-term guests to prepare hummingbird feeders to assist the tiny birds.
The HummerBird Celebration features speakers, tours, vendors, and more, much of which takes place in the Rockport-Fulton High School auditorium. The majority of the event is live, but five of the programs will be offered virtually as well.
First documented by Connie Hagar in 1938, the ruby-throated hummingbird migration is truly spectacular. In 1988, Betty Baker, Jesse Grantham, and others began developing this event with the goal of bringing attention to the phenomena.
In addition to the recognition of the hummingbirds, they wanted to celebrate all birds during migration; thus the name, HummerBird Celebration. It is intended to expand participants' knowledge of all birds and associated wildlife.
The full schedule of events with locations and a map can be found here.
