FURTHER INVOLVEMENT
HUMMINGBIRD EXPEDITIONS TO CENTRAL AMERICA
The first spring migrant Ruby-throated Hummingbirds begin arriving in the southern U.S. in early March and move as far north as Canada as the season progresses. Virtually all of them depart their North American nesting range by mid-October. For at least four months of the year, however, RTHU are on their non-breeding grounds—primarily Mexico and Central America—where almost nothing specific is known about their “winter” behavior.
To help unlock the mysteries of what RTHU are doing “the rest of the year” when they’re NOT at backyard feeders or gardens in the U.S. and Canada, Operation RubyThroat principal investigator Bill Hilton Jr. leads mid-winter hummingbird expeditions to Costa Rica, Guatemala, and Belize. During the past five years, Bill and more than a hundred citizen scientists who accompanied him have made some remarkable discoveries about RTHU behavior in the Neotropics. To learn about these successes—or to find out how you can join Bill on one of his exciting trips in 2010—please see Operation RubyThroat’s Tropical Hummingbird Expeditions. These trips to Central America are coordinated through Holbrook Travel, one of EarthTrek's concept partners.
While in the Neotropics we will continue to collect RTHU data so you can earn additional EarthTrek points through your participation in Operation RubyThroat.
You may also wish to keep abreast of hummingbird activities and other natural history happenings by subscribing to "This Week at Hilton Pond, a regular series of award-winning photo essays produced by
Operation RubyThroat's Bill Hilton Jr. Please see How to Subscribe.