[Pollinator] Hummingbirds as Pollinators

[Bill Hilton Jr. (RESEARCH)]

The holiday season is always busy, so as we post our current installment of "This Week at Hilton Pond" on Christmas weekend we know we run the risk it will get lost among the wrapping paper and eggnog. Nonetheless, we're trying to get caught up on our photo essays, and this one might contain the most important scientific information we learned during our recent hummingbird expedition to eastern Costa Rica.

The installment for 1-14 December 2011 includes a list not only of hummingbird species we mist netted but also all those we observed in commercial fields of Chayote at Ujarrás on the country's Caribbean Slope. Of even greater significance is our discovery that hummers--including Ruby-throated Hummingbirds--may be serving as the primary pollinators of Chayote squash, a plant of great agricultural and economic value. To read about all this, complete with images of several Neotropical hummers caught in the act of pollinating, please visit: http://www.hiltonpond.org/ThisWeek111201.html

While there, don't forget to scroll down for a complete list of birds banded and recaptured at Hilton Pond Center during the period. We include a few miscellaneous nature notes and an acknowledgement for folks who recently made contributions in support of our education, research, and conservation work.

Happy (Holiday) Nature Watching!

BILL

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RESEARCH PROGRAM
c/o BILL HILTON JR. Executive Director
Hilton Pond Center for Piedmont Natural History
1432 DeVinney Road, York, South Carolina 29745 USA
office & cell (803) 684-5852
fax (803) 684-0255

Please visit our web sites (courtesy of Comporium.net):
Hilton Pond Center for Piedmont Natural History at http://www.hiltonpond.org 
"Operation RubyThroat: The Hummingbird Project" at http://www.rubythroat.org

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