THE LONG REACH OF TINY BIRDS - Hummingbirds are inspiring new cross- border conservation efforts between Mexico and the United States - aiding hummingbird migration

Arizona author Tim Vanderpool wrote about trogons in the June/July 2001 issue. Shortly before this issue went to press, University of Arizona hummingbird expert Bill Calder passed away. To learn how to attract hummingbirds to your home, see the department "Backyard Habitat" in this issue.

NWF Program

Crossing Borders

Political boundaries mean nothing to creatures such as the white-eared hummingbird, the monarch butterfly or the green sea turtle, which all travel regularly between Mexico and the United States. Recognizing that North America is one continuous habitat, the National Wildlife Federation recently launched a new program in Mexico, Alianza para la Vida Silvestre (Partnership for Wildlife). The partnership grew out of requests from Mexican organizations hoping to adapt NWF's materials and approach in their country. NWF and its partners will educate children and adults, and help Mexican citizens play an enhanced role in environmental policy-making. The ultimate goal of the new program is to help build a broad base of support for conservation in Mexico. To learn more, see www.nwf.org/mexico.

Captions:

HAVEN'S REWARDS: Marion Paton (above) poses with one of many feeders at her Hummingbird Haven in Patagonia, Arizona. Southeastern Arizona is a hub for the tiny, hovering birds, with as many as 15 different species frequenting Paton's backyard. Among the visitors are the broad-billed (previous pages, approaching a penstemon), the rufous (top, with its long tongue extended) and the magnificent (right, sipping nectar from a prickly pear cactus flower).

LIFE LINES: Tens of thousands of hummingbirds travel regularly between Mexico and the United States, often along verdant pathways such as the San Pedro River (above, left). But this and other crucial migratory corridors are threatened by development and agriculture.

Conservationists are working on both sides of the border to educate citizens on the importance of these pathways, so that birds like these broad-tailed hummingbirds (above, center) will continue to have natural alternatives to plastic feeders.

SMALL WONDERS: Measuring only a few inches long and weighing less than a few coins, hummingbirds are still powerhouses. They can beat their wings as fast as 80 times per second and cover 500 miles or more on a single stretch of their migratory journeys. To fuel this activity, the creatures must ingest copious quantities of nectar daily, as this Costa's hummingbird is doing at an ocotillo plant (above). Although Anna's (right) and other hummingbirds require little real estate for their spiderweb-and-lichen nests, some females produce only a few eggs in a lifetime.

COPYRIGHT 2002 National Wildlife Federation
COPYRIGHT 2002 Gale Group