Wisconsin’s smallest superhero of the sky zips into Henry Vilas Zoo Sept. 6 for National Hummingbird Day
Free carousel and train rides, hands-on activities, giveaways from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. celebrate hummingbirds and their epic migration
MADISON - Saturday, Sept. 6 is National Hummingbird Day and our favorite superhero of the sky, Buzz Lightfeather, is buzzing in to Henry Vilas Zoo for a special day of fun and enlisting zoo visitors to help him fight his arch enemies as he undertakes his first epic migration to Central America for winter.
Kids and adults can make a hummingbird mask, get a free native plant and bird-friendly coffee sample, and enjoy a free train or carousel ride during this special event sponsored by SOS Save Our Songbirds. All activities run from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the general area of the carousel building near the zoo’s south entrance, on Vilas Park Drive across from the beach at 1501 Vilas Park Dr.
“Hummingbirds are not songbirds but we love them too,” says Lisa Gaumnitz, who coordinates the volunteer-based SOS Save Our Songbirds campaign. “They winter in the same places many of our songbirds do, and they face the same threats, so taking steps at home to help these tiny superheroes of the sky will help our songbirds too!”
Ruby-throated Hummingbirds leave Wisconsin in August and September to migrate over 2,000 miles to Central America, including making a 500-mile nonstop flight over the Gulf of Mexico. They face many dangers along the way, chief among them flying into windows reflecting habitat, places with few natural foods for them to eat and fuel their flight, and arriving at their winter homes to find native trees providing critical habitat have been cut down to grow coffee in the sun.
Such habitat loss on their nesting and wintering grounds are among the biggest threats they face. To keep up the blistering pace of their migratory flight and make a a 500-mile nonstop flight across the Gulf of Mexico, hummingbirds need the human equivalent of over 150,000 calories every day, according to John Hopkins Medicine, whose researchers are studying hummingbird metabolism to better understand and treat human diabetes and obesity.
A Ruby-throated Hummingbird homes in on the bright red flowers of a native Cardinal Plant. Visitors to the Sept. 6 National Hummingbird Day can pick up a free Cardinal Plant to grow and provide nectar to fuel hummingbirds in coming years. Photo by Ryan Brady
Cartoon superhero helps share the migration story plus free supplies to jumpstart action at home
To help zoo visitors learn about hummingbirds and the dangers they face on their migration, SOS Save Our Songbirds is introducing a cartoon superhero named Buzz Lightfeather. Displays will introduce kids to some of the biggest dangers and archvillains Buzz will have to overcome to survive migration. Those threats include archvillains Pane the Pain — windows birds fly into because they see habitat reflected in the windows; Front Yard Food Desert — yards lacking the native plants providing natural foods to fuel hummingbirds’ journey; and Sun Coffee Tree Killer — native trees cut down in their winter homes.
Visitors can see solutions to these threats, and take home some supplies to help hummingbirds stay safe around their homes. They also can enjoy fun hands-on activities and a free train or carousel ride while tokens last during this special celebration. Visitors can:
Take away a free native Cardinal Flower to plant and help fuel Buzz and other hummingbirds with nectar for their epic journey in coming years. Grab a free sample pack of Bird Friendly certified coffee you can brew at home and know you’re helping protect rainforest in Buzz’s winter home.
Learn about effective and inexpensive ways to help Buzz defeat Pane the Pain, the reflective window just about every home has that birds fly into. For a small donation, you can take home a window treatment kit so your worst home window won’t lead to Buzz’s demise.
Make a hummingbird mask and pick up a token for a free carousel or train ride until the supply of tokens (480) runs out.
Kids use feathers, press on gems, markers and other craft items to make hummingbird masks. Photo by Linda Gaumnitz
Free train or carousel rides spotlight window treatments saving birds
Kids and adults riding the train or carousel for free will have the chance to check out window treatments the zoo has just finished installing on the carousel building. Most of the treatments were installed last year with materials donated by SOS Save Our Songbirds and the film’s manufacturer, Feather Friendly Technologies.
Volunteers from the Southern Wisconsin Bird Alliance Bird Collision Corps will be on hand to share how the treatment is working to save birds and to share options for treating the worst window at your own home!
A grid of dots applied to the outside of the carousel building windows at Henry Vilas Zoo helps prevent birds from flying into the windows. The treatments were donated by SOS Save Our Songbirds and Feather Friendly Technologies and this educational sticker on the window raises awareness of the serious problem of bird-window collisions and how to prevent them at home windows. Photo by Lisa Gaumnitz