Museum Web site launches new nature features: Report hummingbirds, subscribe for weekly 'Nature Notebook' e-mails

October 16, 2002
For Immediate Release
Education, outdoors editors
Contacts: Karen Kemp (919) 733-7450, ext. 304

(RALEIGH)—Nature watchers can report unusual sightings of hummingbirds or get brief nature profiles each week with two new features that debut today on the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences’ Web site, www.naturalsciences.org.

People who enjoy observing and gardening for hummingbirds—an increasingly popular pastime—also can help researchers find out more about these tiny, energetic flyers. North Carolina residents can report sightings of hummingbirds at their feeders from November 1 through March 15 by using the new “NC Hummers” section of the Museum’s Web site at www.naturalsciences.org/nchummers.

The ruby-throated hummingbird is the only hummingbird that breeds in the eastern United States, and it usually migrates south by October. However, occasionally “vagrant” ruby-throats show up during the winter. Sometimes other species not believed to occur in North Carolina appear here, outside their normal range.

Since 1999, Museum research staff have been documenting these sightings with the help of an informal network of birders. When possible, the birds are caught, banded and released. Information about each unusual sighting is entered into a database and shared with other hummingbird groups in the Southeast. The goal is to better understand distributions of various species during the non-breeding seasons, said Museum Bird Collection Manager John Gerwin.

“We don’t know if they’ve always been here and we haven’t noticed, or if we’re seeing more because of the surge in gardening for hummers, along with people leaving feeders up all year,” Gerwin said. “But we’re interested in learning more about which species are here, and how often different individuals return to feeders in subsequent years.” In addition to the observation reporting form, the NC Hummers site offers information and pictures of hummingbirds that may be spotted in North Carolina, from the not-yet-recorded Allen’s to the commonly seen rufous. Links to other hummingbird sites also are provided.

Another feature on the Museum Web site, Nature Notebook, offers a glimpse into animals, plants and natural phenomenon of the Southeast. Users can subscribe to receive seasonally selected Nature Notebook journal entries via e-mail each week. Find out:

• What’s the difference between cricket and grasshopper sounds?
• What happened to that twig on the ground under the hardwood tree that looks neatly trimmed almost completely through?
• Which tree changes its leaf color earliest in the fall?
• What’s another name for the “butter butt” bird?

“You might be sitting at your desk working on a financial report when the Nature Notebook message pops up, offering a nugget of information about what’s going on outside your window,” said Museum educator Mike Dunn, a frequent Nature Notebook contributor. “Nature Notebook is a small but fun way to keep connected with the natural world, and to learn a little bit more about it, one species at a time.”

The weekly Notebook items remain on the Museum Web site and are organized by topic, creating an abbreviated on-line field guide available any time. The direct link to this area is www.naturalsciences.org/funstuff/notebook.

The North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, in downtown Raleigh, documents and interprets the natural history of the state of North Carolina through exhibits, research, collections, publications, and educational programming. Hours: Mon.-Sat., 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sun., noon to 5 p.m. Admission is free. Visit the Museum on the web at www.naturalsciences.org. The Museum is an agency of the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources, William G. Ross Jr., Secretary.

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