Spring in New Brunswick is just about ready to hum
CBC
In the birdwatching world, there are many arrivals that are a welcome sign of spring.
Waterfowl often show up in New Brunswick in early April, when ponds are still covered by a layer of ice.
The arrival of red-winged blackbirds at a backyard feeder, usually in the company of common grackles, is a good sign the spring migration is well underway.
But it's the appearance of the tiny, hovering ruby-throated hummingbird that seems to be the most endearing to backyard birdwatchers.
And, if Jim Wilson's meticulous records are any indication, the province's only native hummingbird species is due back very soon.
Wilson, a longtime birder and naturalist who lives in Quispamsis, said he'll be putting his hummingbird feeders out the first week of May.
"I've never seen one before the 1st of May," Wilson said, "The earliest was the 3rd of May. That was in 2011."
Wilson said early arrivals are rare, because the tiny birds are so reliant on flowers for the nectar and tiny insects they feed upon.
"They're day migrants and they feed as they come," Wilson said.
And their high metabolism means they need to feed every day.
"One day [without feeding] would do them out."
It makes their migration to and from Central and South America one of the most amazing feats in the natural world.
An adult ruby-throated hummingbird is about eight centimetres, or three inches, long. Their maximum weight is six grams, which means they weigh less than a standard wooden pencil.
Yet they fly as much as 7,000 kilometres to return to New Brunswick to nest, following the newly blooming spring flowers along the way.
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