Zooming from flower to flower in a flash of iridescent green and fuchsia pink, the Anna’s hummingbird seems to be one of California’s wildlife success stories. Native to Southern California, the tiny fliers are now common throughout the state and seen on snowy branches in Alaska and cacti in Arizona.
Many people set up hummingbird feeders in their yards to nurture and watch these high-energy pollinators. But could the sugar water they provide be impacting these tiny feathered friends?
Wildlife veterinarians at the Hummingbird Health and Conservation Program in the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine recently published a study describing a new system to track hummingbirds visiting feeders in urban gardens. Feeder behavior offers clues about hummingbird health, and disease transmission.
