The wisdom and wonder of a young counselor who thought summer camp should be a happy place complete with hummingbirds is how it all started. A feeder hung on the Ruskin Cave property, almost 20 years ago, has morphed into one of the largest hummingbird gatherings in the state. And, now, a federally licensed researcher is banding these tiny birds in an effort to find out more about their particular migration patterns.
It was once thought if you left your feeders out past October you would keep birds from making their migration. But, researchers say there are actually winter hummingbirds. Since November 1990 there have been six species recorded during Tennessee winters.
Episode 3508
Tennessee Department of Agriculture