Hummingbirds at the Pikes Peak Cog Ry

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HUMMINGBIRDS AT THE PIKES PEAK COG RAILWAY-

(First off, I am not an ornithologist, but I love birds, especially hummers, and have observed them closely for over 20 years.)

We love our hummingbirds at the Cog Railway and feed them whenever they are around. Their migration into Manitou begins like clock-work; right around April 19th, we can plan on seeing our first male Broadtail. The Broadtails will begin migrating south in early September and the last one will depart about September 20th. The last departure seems much more random than the first arrival.

We see four different species of hummers throughout the year. The longest resident and most commonly seen are the Broadtails. Second most common are the Rufous, whose males are a bright metallic orange (and whose "humming" is slightly different -more metallic? - to the trained ear than the Broadtail.) Incidentally, the humming sound is caused by the shape of the wing feathers. The Rufous show up around July 4th and remain until about August 10th. The Rufous is an amazingly bird, not only because of its incredible beauty, but because it migrates from the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico, and some fly as far north as Alaska- a 12,000 mile migration for a tiny little creature! The males are very aggressive and will upon arrival try to defend the feeders from all other hummers. We have so many hummingbirds that the Rufous get discouraged (tired and hungry?) and quickly learn to share the feeders. We will also see a few Calliope (smallest bird in North America-males are nearly silent) and Black-chinned hummingbirds (males also silent) throughout the heart of the summer (mid-June through mid-August).

Female Broadtail

It is very difficult to discern the differences in various females, so we rely on sighting the males to determine species. These lovely birds nest along Ruxton Creek, and I have always thought our location along the Creek has brought us the abundance of hummers. In addition to nectar (or sugar-water in the feeders), these birds eat quite a large number of small insects every day.

The day I am writing this, May 15th, we have about 15 birds at our feeders. In the summer, we probably have an active group of 50!

Male Broadtail

To see the hummers, look for the feeders. They are located above you at the bottom of the steps and on the left and right. A very good vantage point is near (and above) the cog wheel display at the main downstairs gift shop or from the black railing outside the western (mountain-side) entrance to the ticket office. This feeder is located outside the Dispatcher's window (right above the Web Cam)!

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