Yesterday marked the first sighting of 2010 of Hummingbirds on Grouse Mountain!
For the past five years Grouse Mountain has sponsored a Hummingbird Monitoring Project that has led to interesting research and findings about hummingbirds in a sub-alpine environment.
Every two weeks our wildlife staff go out and count hummingbirds coming to feeders, band each bird with a microscopic bird band and take important measurements and data on the age and sex of the bird. This data is then compiled with other stations throughout Western North America to provide a more complete picture of what is happening with hummingbird populations and migration.
Contrary to the myth, Hummingbirds do not migrate on the backs of other birds - they do the journey all under their own power! The most common hummingbird in the Vancouver area is the Rufous Hummingbird. These amazing birds complete a migration from Mexico to as far north as Alaska each year before doing the return journey in the late summer after they are done breeding. If you consider body size to distance travelled, the Rufous Hummingbird has the longest migration ratio of any bird!
Please watch for these amazing birds at our feeding and monitoring station behind our outdoor plaza (aka Ice Rink) when you next visit Grouse Mountain!
