A Haven for Hummingbirds

A Haven for Hummingbirds

Each summer, bird watchers journey to the west Texas town of Christoval (pop. 422) for one reason—to see thousands of hummingbirds that swarm feeders at the ranch of Dan and Joann Brown.

From mid-March through late September, the couple keeps as many as 18 large feeders filled with fresh sugar water for the tiny birds that, all together, can consume three gallons of the sweet liquid a day. Last summer alone, the Browns used 725 pounds of sugar.

“We just find the birds so intriguing,” Dan says. “Every spring, we always look expectedly for the first arrival.” But, as Joann says, “It’s a pretty darn full-time job.”

The couple’s devotion to the hummingbirds—up to 3,500 a day—that feed and nest around their home hasn’t gone unnoticed. Since 1995, Texas Parks and Wildlife officials have billed the Browns as the state’s top hummingbird feeders.

“Their yard is definitely a mega-feeding station,” says Brent Ortega, a biologist with the parks department. “It’s very impressive.”

Bird watcher Serena Flynn, who comes from nearby San Angelo, Texas, each year says it is common to see one or two hummers around a backyard feeder. “But when you go to Dan’s, there are just too many to count. It’s so amazing to watch as they zip back and forth to the feeders and the trees.’’

This hummingbird haven began as a hobby 43 years ago. “I put up a hummingbird feeder and before the week was out I had three feeders, then four feeders up,” he recalls. “It wasn’t long before that wasn’t enough.”

The birds multiplied with each additional feeder, and so did the number of bird watchers. In 1996, the Browns built the Hummer House, a cottage just a short walk from their home that they rent to birders. Two years later, they built an observation room between their home and the Hummer House. The metal-roofed building, which can accommodate 60 birders, has large plate-glass windows for viewing. They charge $5 per person to use the observation room.

The primary species of hummers is the black-chinned, however, five other species have been sighted—ruby-throated, rufous, broad-tailed, Allen’s, and a few Calliope (the smallest hummingbird in the United States). Like clockwork, the first black-chinned males arrive in mid-March. Large numbers of males and females follow from their Mexico wintering grounds, and mating begins almost immediately. The Browns place cotton (unbleached so there are no toxins) around the yard for the birds to use in nest building. In late July, the male black-chinned hummers depart; the females take flight later. Migratory hummers continue to feed at the Browns’ through late September.

Dan expects the numbers to grow each year. “Birds have recall memory,” he says. “Of the birds that hatch here, a large percentage return to this general area. That’s what’s helped build this humongous amount of birds.”

Dan and Joann don’t take all the credit for their hordes. The tiny birds most commonly seen with their beak in flowers, also require protein, which they get from an ample supply of small insects that inhabit the surrounding woods and nearby Concho River Valley.

Other birds and animals also thrive on the Browns’ 580-acre ranch. To date, more than 100 species of birds have been sighted in their yard. In the last seven years, volunteers interested in bird populations have banded more than 16,000 birds, including more than 1,000 cardinals.

Wild turkey and white-tailed deer also stop by to graze in an adjacent oak-shaded field. To encourage regular visits, Dan—accompanied by his Border collie, Trey—scatters corn on the ground every evening.

While he tends the outside chores, Joann mans the telephone and manages their wildlife-viewing business. “We get about 39 phone calls a day,” she says. “We’re busy folks, but I love it. I wouldn’t trade it for anything.”

Sheryl Smith-Rodgers is a writer in Blanco, Texas.

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