Hummingbird Migration Celebration

This post is kind of late, so I apologize.

September 7--9 were the dates of the National Audubon Society's annual Hummingbird Migration Celebration at Strawberry Plains Audubon Center in Holly Springs, Mississippi. If you've read an earlier post I wrote, you'll know how great Strawberry Plains is. It's even greater in early September, when the hummingbirds are getting ready for their long migration to Central America. The Center's feeders are literally buzzing with hummers. It's like a hummingbird fallout!
The Hummingbird Migration Celebration is the biggest Audubon event in the country, partly because it's so close to Memphis, TN, but mostly because it's so much fun. Strawberry Plains almost feels like a different place, with all the people and tents all around. My favorite was the hummingbird banding tent, where you could see hummingbirds being banded while the banders explained how it was done.

The hummingbirds are caught in traps set up around the feeders. They are basically wire cages with doors that can be pulled shut by an attached fishing line. Once the hummingbirds are caught, they are put in little drawstring mesh bags to wait their turn for banding.

The band is very, very small, which is why I didn't get a photo; the camera wouldn't focus. It is pried open and placed in the banding pliers, which are just pliers with tongs on the end in the exact shape and size of the band. The band is then squeezed shut around the hummingbird's leg. Then the hummingbird is weighed, its fat content measured, and then placed in some lucky little kid's hands to be released. It was really cool.

There were plenty of other tents, including one for the Organization for Bat Conservation. There was a program given by the director, about all kinds of bats. He brought some live bats to show the audience, including the largest bat in the world, the flying fox, which is about the size of a large hare. I had only read about them before, so I was excited by this.

Flying Fox, the largest bat in the world.

He had also brought a Malaysian fruit bat and a big brown bat, and gave everyone close-up looks of both. It was pretty awesome.

There were also kids' tents, artwork on display, and, to the excitement of my amateur geologist brother, a rock tent. All of them were very interesting, and the festival itself was fun for all.

Strawberry Plains Audubon Center-- 8/4/12

The school year has started. That simple phrase can fill some with dread, others with happiness, and still others with a mix of the two. I enjoyed my summer vacation, but I'm excited about the new school year all the same. There are several good things about it. It means I'm in 8th grade (scary thought), it makes the weekend all the more sweet, and........it marks the start of fall migration!

My dad, my little brother and I celebrated by taking a trip to Strawberry Plains Audubon Center in Holly Springs, MS on Saturday. We set out at about 8:15 AM and arrived at about 9. It was supposed to be a group walk, but the leader never showed up. So another very nice person, a mammalogist, drove us to a nearby pond to see some shorebirds. Upon getting out of the golfcart, we spotted a number of small indistinct shorebirds. Determinedly, we raised our binoculars and squinted at them. Our mammalogist guide was at about the same place I am with shorebird identification, so we discussed their field marks until we had to resort to a field guide. We ended up identifying them as Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs, as well as a lone Least Sandpiper.

This photo shows all three species.

The pond was full of many more natural wonders, including turtles, fish, insects, and footprints. We found raccoon, coyote, deer and even bobcat tracks.

Bobcat track.

There were also scores of bird tracks.

A heron track among sandpiper prints.

We looked up from the footprints just in time to see a yellowlegs being chased by.....was that a hummingbird? Those little guys are fierce!

We also noticed about ten turtles sunning themselves on some dead branches sticking out of the water.

As far as we could tell, they were all Red-eared Sliders.

We then decided to move on to the wildflower meadow. The wildflower meadow is an old farm pasture that is controlled with fire and planted with wildflowers. It is a great place to see all kinds of grassland species. It was getting kind of late in the morning, so we didn't expect to see too many birds, but we got a pretty good amount all the same. We heard Field Sparrow, saw White-eyed Vireo and Indigo Bunting, as well as a female Common Yellowthroat; all nice additions to our list. We ended up with 14 species in an hour and a half.


Some of you may have heard of Strawberry Plains Audubon Center's Hummingbird Migration Celebration in September. It is the biggest Audubon event in the country, and it is awesome. It happens this year on the weekend of September 7--9, and I am definitely looking forward to it. The hummingbirds were there in force on Saturday, as we found out when we saw the large collection of hummer feeders at the Center. They were cooperative, friendly, and altogether fun to photograph!