Photo by Irene Grace
Jeffers Bend Environmental Center is inviting people back to visit this coming Saturday, as they’ll be celebrating all things hummingbird with the third annual Hummingbird Festival.
The star of the show will be the world’s smallest bird—specifically the Ruby-Throated Hummingbird that calls this area home for part of the year before making the trip back south—and Charles Turner and Diane Croney-Turner say the event is completely free to attend. Turner says he was surprised to see just how special these little birds are to people from all over.
Along with the birds, there will be activities taking place highlighting Native American folklore about hummingbirds, educational facts about pollinators—which includes hummingbirds—and they’ll have plants for sale, along with banding.
Banding is when an expert gently catches a hummingbird and places a very tiny band, using very tiny tools, on the leg of the bird that will allow researchers to track those birds over time and monitor how the species as a whole is faring in the world.
Croney-Turner says the banding process is truly fascinating, and seems to be fairly stress free for the birds.
The festival takes place from 9 a.m. until noon this Saturday, August 23, and Turner says they’re hoping to beat the heat.
These birds are world travelers—each year, they make the trek from Southern America back to the southern United States during the summer, where they make their nests and raise their young, before making the trip back south during the fall.