Hummingbirds may have started migrating to Central America and Mexico, but there are still events celebrating the pollinators.
Forest Preserve District of Will County presents its annual Hummingbird Fest Aug. 19 at Plum Creek Nature Center in Crete Township near Beecher.
“It’s a fun event,” said Bob Bryerton, program coordinator for Plum Creek Nature Center, where there are approximately 12 hummingbird feeders.
He encouraged attendees to arrive early to obtain tickets for free Lincoln Land Association of Bird Banders sessions every half-hour beginning at 2 p.m.
“It’s exciting but it’s also limited,” said Bryerton, who added that banding viewers may adopt a hummingbird and receive a postcard if the bird is recaptured.
“Hummingbirds are so tiny. There’s not a transmitter you can put on them. The only way to find out where they go and how old they are is to capture them, band them and recapture them at a later time.”
Thorn Creek Audubon Society sponsors the banding.
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Bryerton noted that hummingbirds recaptured since banding began in 2015 at Plum Creek Nature Center include one in 2019 after being banded in 2015, one in 2021 after being banded in 2020, and three in 2022 after two were banded in 2021 and one was banded in 2020.
“Last year we had a record number of birds captured — 39 — so the odds of recapturing a bird are going up since we have banded more of them over time,” he said.
Other festival offerings include children’s activities, making and taking a hummingbird feeder, a live beehive, monarch caterpillars on display and Kay MacNeil aka the Butterfly Lady sharing how to attract monarch butterflies to one’s yard.
The fest also includes The Conservation Foundation promoting Conservation@Home, which encourages landscapes that create wildlife habitats; The Nature Foundation of Will County’s native plant sale; and a Wild Birds Unlimited booth about pollinator-related activities.
“Because (hummingbirds) take nectar and go from plant to plant like a bee or a butterfly, they pollinate plants,” said Bryerton of Beecher.
Plum Creek Nature Center also offers the free Hummingbird Hangout from 9 a.m. to noon Aug. 26 in the hummingbird courtyard. Registration is required by Aug. 25.
“They whiz by your head as they go back and forth,” Bryerton said.
“Some of them are sitting. Some of them are feeding. It’s constant motion around the feeders so it’s cool.”
Other events include:
Hummingbird Rooftop Hangout: This is from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesdays to Saturdays and noon to 4 p.m. Sundays through Aug. 31 at Hidden Oaks Nature Center in Bolingbrook. Admission is free. At 419 Trout Farm Road. 815-722-4121; reconnectwithnature.org.
Hummingbird Fest: This is from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Aug. 19 at Sagawau Environmental Learning Center in Lemont. Admission is free. At 12545 W. 111th St. 630-257-2045; fpdcc.com.
Hummingbird Sit: This is at 10 a.m. Aug. 20 at Sagawau Environmental Learning Center in Lemont. Admission is free. At 12545 W. 111th St. 630-257-2045; fpdcc.com.
Sit and Sip: Hummingbirds: This event for ages 13 and older is from 9 to 10 a.m. Aug. 27 at Sand Ridge Nature Center in South Holland. Admission is free. At 15891 Paxton Ave. 708-868-0606; fpdcc.com.
Hummingbird Fest
When: 1-5 p.m. Aug. 19
Where: Plum Creek Nature Center, 27064 S. Dutton Road, Crete Township near Beecher
Tickets: free
Information: 708-946-2216; reconnectwithnature.org
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Jessi Virtusio is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.