WR60 Portfolio

Introduction

Colibrí hummingbirds are small and vibrant creatures that take on the South Americas. These little fellas have captured the hearts of many individuals from their backyards with their songs and colors. They exhibit some of the most fascinating pigmented patterns on their feathers. Colibrís use their iridescent plumage to protect their friends and family. Afterall, they are some of the most courageous little creatures that would go to great lengths to defend their species. They use their feathers and swift movements to scare away intruders that may step foot in their territory and they use their unique vocal abilities to capture the hearts of potential mates to ensure that both their strong genes and their species are multiplied.

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Flying, breeding, and singing are just a few of the miraculous abilities of a hummingbird, but most noteworthy, they are excellent pollinators. Colibrí hummingbirds, along with other hummingbird species, are well known for being the quick little creatures, who go from flower to flower to pollinate with their long and unique beaks. Pollination helps in many ways, such as by improving plant production, cleaning the air, and it overall keeps the Earth alive. When hummingbirds transfer pollen between flowers, they allow for those flowers to successfully develop seeds which leads to the creation of new plants. Without pollinators, many plants would die; ultimately leading to the downfall of Earth and humans. Hummingbirds face many threats including some that are unthinkable. According to the article “Spider Webs and Windows as Potentially Important Sources of Hummingbird Mortality (Telas de Araña y Ventanas Como Fuentes Potenciales de Mortalidad Para Zumbadores).” by Devon L. Graham, many hummingbirds die from getting caught in spiderwebs, but most other hummingbirds die from window collisions and other man made structures. Another article, “Observations of Predation and Anti-Predator Behavior of Ruby-Throated Hummingbirds during Migratory Stopover.” explains how hummingbirds are hunted while on their migratory journeys by hawks and other animals. Furthermore, an exploration of fatal threats that hummingbirds regularly face is necessary to develop solutions to ultimately stop these vital creatures from reaching an endangered or extinct state.

 

So What?

Hummingbirds help us, so why not help them? According to One Earth’s short video titled “The Mighty Impact of the Hummingbird” there are approximately 350 types of hummingbirds and each hummingbird’s “size, bill, and body mass matches to a flower’s size, curvature, and nectar volume” (0:28). As the video also notes, the extinction of one kind of hummingbird can ultimately create an unbalance in our ecosystem. If a flower can’t be pollinated due to an extinct species, that flower has a higher chance of also becoming extinct. It is an inevitable and essential relationship that must be protected.

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The preservation of hummingbirds is very important for the preservation of the Earth. They play a major role in the food web and in the ecosystem as pollinators. Colibrís allow for multiple, wild, and colorful plants and flowers to grow. They add diversity to our world. Without hummingbirds, the Earth would be far less colorful and far more inferior. While hummingbirds are not necessarily endangered, like mentioned before, they do face many threats that could ultimately end their lives. They make significant efforts to protect their species, so why shouldn't we? Colibrís may be powerful creatures but we humans are much larger and far more capable of protecting this species with our advanced knowledge and technology but some of us simply lack motivation. While hummingbirds may symbolize feelings of joy and love for us humans, for them, we may represent death. We are not the one and only cause for hummingbird mortality, but we are a big one. For this reason, it is important to take action now and help those species that strive to fight for themselves. 

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Humans

Many of these threats are created by humans, besides predation. Hummingbirds and other wildlife are affected by the resources we use to “improve” our state of living or provide us comfort, but in reality our selfishness is merely harming these creatures. Some humans place pesticides in their gardens to kill unwanted weeds, insects, and rodents but this has also led to the deaths of many hummingbirds. In fact, pesticides not only harm hummingbirds but they also harm us humans. According to Sylvester Olisake Igbedioh’s article “Minimizing Environmental and Health Effects of Agricultural Pesticides in Developing Countries.”, all pesticides are “toxic” (219), simply because pesticide toxicity levels can be minimized they may not seem so harmful for us or other species, but they are. Some people enjoy putting bird feeders on their windows to observe these magnificent creatures from the inside of their homes, but they never think about the fact that many birds don’t understand what the clear surface they are flying towards is and oftentimes they continue to fly straight into the window. The article “Why Birds Hit Windows - And How You Can Help Prevent It” about “1 billion birds die from window strikes in the U.S. each year”. This is true because instead of redirecting hummingbirds away from our homes we attract them by placing feeders using unsafe methods. Devastatingly, we are one of the leading causes of hummingbird mortality which could ultimately affect our world as a whole. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Deforestation

Hummingbirds’ homes are being threatened and as a result hummingbirds’ lives are also being threatened. Deforestation affects many species’ lives, including those of hummingbirds. Without their homes, hummingbirds are left to start from scratch. They are forced to create new nesting sites, gather extra food, and possibly migrate to another area to restore what was lost. This can lead to the extinction of certain groups of hummingbirds, or the elimination of a regional group of hummingbirds. This can affect hummingbird culture and overall creates a division between generations of Colibrís. In fact, governments and corporate groups are setting a new goal to achieve “zero deforestation”(Brown, Sandra, and Daniel Zarin, 805). This project’s main goal is to conserve forests. By doing so many countries are developing new policies to prevent deforestation. The article “What Does Zero Deforestation Mean?” provides a table in which we can see some countries’ “commitment” to the project. Brazil, for example, is cutting “gross deforestation in the Legal Amazon by 80%” (806). 

 

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Predation and Starvation

There are other threats to hummingbirds that are more natural. While one wouldn’t normally think that a bird could get stuck in a spider web, it is possible. In his article, Graham mentions that many hummingbirds use spider webs as nesting material. Sometimes while trying to acquire these resources they get caught and fall victim to spiders. Other times, hummingbirds may fall victim to other animals such as hawks and domestic cats. This is simply the circle of life, yet domestic cats can and should be observed to prevent any more unnecessary hummingbird deaths. “Survivorship in Hummingbirds: Is Predation Important?”, an article by Richard S. Miller and C. L. Gass explores the different predators that catch hummingbirds. In their article, they placed a table of their observations in which they include the predators’ names, the number of instances in which this predator preyed on a hummingbird, and the hummingbird type. Miller and Gass state that “predation plays a minor role in the mortality of adult hummingbirds”. This further supports the idea that humans are the main cause for hummingbird mortality.  Starvation is another leading cause for hummingbird deaths. This can be due to unfortunate circumstances that limit the hummingbirds from finding enough pollen from flowers during cold weather or the unlucky days in which hummingbirds don’t find enough pollen in the flowers from which they eat. 

 

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Problem

Overall, hummingbirds face many dangerous circumstances that can put their lives at risk. A great amount of these risks are human made. It is important to learn and become educated in the ways that we can preserve hummingbirds. Instead of using pesticides to enhance our garden’s plant life, we should worry about keeping hummingbirds alive so that they can do their jobs as pollinators and produce new plant life. Instead of luring hummingbirds into our neighborhoods, risking the probability that they could collide with man made structures, we should venture the great outdoors and seek hummingbirds ourselves without interrupting their homes or daily lives. Hummingbirds are important, as all species are. Preserving them means that we could have a greener Earth. Rather than cutting down trees, let's focus on preserving hummingbirds so that they can diversify nature and provide us with oxygen. Moreover, preserving and avoiding possible threats for hummingbirds will help transform our world and will allow it to continue to grow in uniqueness. 

 

Solution Limitations

Avoiding Colibrís’ extinction is as difficult of a task as it is with any other species. There are multiple measures that one must take in order to successfully preserve a species. For this reason, there is no simple solution to keep hummingbirds alive. In fact, according to the article “Unveiling the Vital Role of Hummingbirds in our Ecosystems”, some may argue that animal mortality is simply just a part of the circle of life and the ecosystem’s “predator-prey balance”. Regardless, if we want our Earth to continue to diversify and flourish, immediate action is needed. 

 

Solutions

As some of the top reasons for hummingbird mortality include humans and human-made structures, the only reasonable solution would be for us humans to fix the problems that we have started. Sometimes we wish to attract these beautiful and iridescent creatures near our home without considering the possible threats. According to the article “Why Birds Hit Windows - And How You Can Help Prevent It”, windows reflect the blue skies, which to birds seems like extra flying space. The opposite couldn't be more true. As these poor hummingbirds excitedly fasten their pace and hurry up towards the “sky”, they are met with a fatal outcome. This article also provides possible solutions that may help keep hummingbirds away from our windows. These solutions include covering the windows with netting “at least 3 inches from the glass” to allow the hummingbirds to bounce back without having hit the hard surfaced window, decals that are “spaced very closely” in order to allow the hummingbirds to believe that they cannot fly between these objects, ultimately causing it to fly around the obstacles, and painting artwork on your window which would have the same effect as the decals. 

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Yet another man-made threat mentioned is pesticides. Many argue that there are multiple benefits of pesticides. The article “Importance and Benefits of Pesticides” is a huge advocate for pesticides, in fact, they argue that “without pesticides, more than half of our crops would be lost to pests and diseases”. While this statement may contain some truth, it's important to evaluate the costs and the benefits. Colibrís, unlike pesticides, are natural and do not pose any financial challenges. Pesticides can leave harmful residue on its crops that can ultimately be harmful for the consumers. Colibrís are obviously pollinators which indicate that they too can incentivize reproduction amongst plants and flowers in a more eco-friendly way. It is clear that the costs outweigh the benefits of pesticides, proving that hummingbirds are far more beneficial for our crops. 

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A more simple solution would be to use social media. Social media is a great way to get information around. One could spread awareness about hummingbird mortality and possibly spark more interest in the problem at hand. Social media can be used to share informational articles, post infographics about hummingbirds and their importance in our ecosystems, and even post advertisements for window nettings and decals.

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Overall, these simple solutions are only the beginning. The removal of pesticides and the tweaks to our windows are simple and cheap ways in which we can start to make our Earth more hummingbird friendly. More advanced solutions include investigating ways to stop deforestation which leads to the destruction of hummingbirds’ homes and finding ways to provide hummingbirds with the necessary resources to both build their nests and ease their hunger. Regardless, it is important to take action now even if that means starting small. 

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