Surfbirds News

Renowned expert Bob Sargent and his team, the Hummer/Bird Study Group, will again be hosting bird-banding demonstrations. Bird banding helps unravel the mysteries of migration. If you think hummingbirds are small, you should see the delicate band that goes around their leg. The tiny numbered leg bands enable scientists to determine how far south the birds go for winter, where they stop during their travels, how long they live, and whether they come back to the same sites year after year. (Many do.) At the 2008 festival, over 280 hummingbirds were banded and a bird was recaptured that had been tagged in 2006.

Ruby-throated Hummingbird © Kanae Hirabayashi, from the surfbirds galleries

"Hummingbirds are amazing ambassadors for nature and conservation," said Walter Hubbard, director of Strawberry Plains Audubon Center. "Seeing these tiny birds up close inspires us to appreciate the amazing diversity of life on planet earth. Their flight over the Gulf of Mexico would compare somewhat to each of us running a marathon with no stops. How many of us would make it?"

Hummers are not only beautiful and inspiring for their migratory achievement, they play a vital ecological role as pollinators. Visitors to the festival will learn how to attract them to their own backyards and gardens through special plantings and other techniques.

While the hummingbirds visit the Audubon Strawberry Plains Center throughout September, the weekend Migration Celebration, from September 11-13, is a prime opportunity to experience its 2,600 acres of magnificent forests, grasslands and native plant gardens. The Center, at 285 Plains Road, in Holly Springs, MS, was described as an "outdoor lover's paradise" by The Tupelo Daily Journal. From the enclosed porch of historic Davis House, visitors watch the hummingbirds swarm like bees in the garden outside. A full schedule of nature walks and workshops and other special events, along with opportunities to shop for gifts, arts and crafts, hummingbird feeders, and bird-friendly plants makes the festival a rewarding destination for everyone in the family.

This year's Hummingbird festival features a number of new speakers, including Douglas W. Tallamy, author of Bringing Nature Home: How You Can Sustain Wildlife with Native Plants and Miyoko Chu, whose new book, Songbird Journeys: Four Seasons in the Lives of Migratory Birds, explores the amazing migratory habits of songbirds. Popular returning programs will include the live bat encounter with Rob Mies, guided nature walks, wagon rides, and tours of historic Davis House.

Kristin Lamberson, the Interpretive Gardens Specialist at Strawberry Plains Audubon Center, will be answering questions about what kind of plants appeal to birds, how to place your feeders for maximum benefits, and why indigenous plants are easier to maintain.

Admission is $10 for adults, $7 for seniors, $5 for children under 12; admission for 12-passenger vans and buses is $7 per person. All parking is free.

For more information on the Tenth Annual Hummingbird Migration Celebration events, please visit http://strawberryplains.audubon.org or call 662-252-1155.