BANGOR DAILY NEWS • September 29, 2025
The more I learn about ruby-throated hummingbirds, the less I understand. For instance, there are more than 325 hummingbird species in the New World. A couple dozen visit the western United States, and half of them nest there. But the ruby-throat is the only hummingbird to nest east of the Great Plains, and I don’t know why. Perhaps one reason no other hummingbird lives in the east is because none can accomplish the ruby-throat’s migratory route. To reach its wintering grounds in Central America, it flies across the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean, making the 500-mile jump in a single flight lasting 20 hours. That requires a lot of stored energy, and tiny hummingbirds have little room for storage. ~ Bob Duchesne