The red buckeye’s showy, red flowers are blooming in the wild now beneath forest canopies in Georgia’s Piedmont and Coastal Plain regions. The plant, typically a small shrub, also has been widely introduced throughout much of the rest of the state.
At the same time the buckeyes bloom, ruby-throated hummingbirds are returning to Georgia from winter homes in Central America. The timing is no coincidence.
Scientists believe the hummingbird coevolved with the red buckeye and other tubular-shaped flowers for mutual benefits. In the red buckeye’s case, it relies heavily on the ruby-throat for pollination. In turn, its red, 6-10 inch flower clusters provide rich nectar for the early-returning hummingbirds when other wild nectar sources are still scarce.
The tiny birds are tired and hungry after their long flights — including a 500-mile, nonstop leg across the Gulf of Mexico — and are in need of nectar for quick energy. Many of them will stay in Georgia to nest; many others will stop only for a few days to rest and refuel before going on to nesting grounds as far north as Canada.
The birds, of course, also rely on backyard feeders and sugary liquid from sap wells in hardwood tree trunks — drilled by yellow bellied sapsuckers — for nourishment. Studies show, however, that ruby-throats prefer nectar from red tubular wildflowers.
Besides red buckeye, other such native flowers include pale jewelweed, trumpet creeper, red morning glory, wild bergamot, cardinal flower and scarlet beebalm. The birds typically do not prefer garden flowers such as daffodils or forsythia.
But hummingbirds cannot survive on nectar and sugar water from feeders alone. When they commence breeding and nesting, they switch to a diet mostly of tiny insects and spiders for protein to stay healthy and feed their young. They will still need nectar, though, for energy.
Red buckeyes will bloom through May. Then, other tubular flowers such as jewelweed and trumpet creeper will begin blooming.
IN THE SKY: From David Dundee, Tellus Science Museum astronomer: The moon is in first quarter. Mercury, Venus and Saturn are low in the east just before sunrise. Mars is high in the west just after dark and will appear near the moon April 5. Jupiter is low in the west after dark and will appear beside the moon April 2.
Charles Seabrook can be reached at charles.seabrook@yahoo.com.
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