Ruby-throated Hummingbird Lakeshore State Park Milwaukee Wisconsin July 17, 2014

I did some birding at Lakeshore State Park in Milwaukee this morning. The highlight was a young male Ruby-throated Hummingbird working some native plants there. The Green Heron was also present along with the common Ring-billed and Herring Gulls. Beautiful day to be out birding with mild temps, sunshine and lows winds.

Ruby-throated Hummingbird on Hoary Vervain

Ruby-throated Hummingbird

Binomial name: Archilochus colubris

Category: Hummingbirds

Description: Metallic green feathers on back, grayish-white on underparts.  Males have a vibrant red throat which may appear dark in poor lighting. Wings are dark gray, almost black.  Long, slender bill is black in color and mostly straight with a slight curve at the tip.

Size: 2.8″-3.5″ long, 3” – 4” wingspan

Weight: 0.071 oz. – 0.21 oz.

Habitat: Broadleaf and pine forests, orchards, meadows, parks, and gardens

Diet: Tree and flower nectar, small insects, and spiders

Nesting: The female provides all parental care, building a nest in a protected tree or shrub on a slightly downward-sloping limb.  They favor deciduous trees such as oak, birch, or poplar.  The nest is made out of bud scales, lichen, spider silk, and dandelion or thistle down.  The same nest may be used year after year with the female making annual repairs.  The female will lay 1-3 eggs at a time, laying eggs once or twice per summer.  The young remain in the nest for 22-25 days.

Ruby-throated Hummingbird on Hoary Vervain

Ruby-throated Hummingbird

Ruby-throated Hummingbird on Hoary Vervain

Ruby-throated Hummingbird on Hoary Vervain

Ruby-throated Hummingbird

Ruby-throated Hummingbird on Hoary Vervain

Ruby-throated Hummingbird on Hoary Vervain

Ruby-throated Hummingbird on Wild White Indigo

Ruby-throated Hummingbird on Penstemon spp.

Ruby-throated Hummingbird on Penstemon spp.