Maryland is another state that does not have a huge population of hummingbirds that visit each year. But, the good news is that there are at least two species that do make an appearance here. These are the Ruby-throated Hummingbird and the Rufous Hummingbird and they will arrive in April, with males coming first and females following shortly thereafter, usually within a week or two and leaving in September, with males making the first move first again, with females following along shortly thereafter.
Even though there are only two species of hummingbirds in Maryland, having the ability to identify which ones are visiting can be interesting to try to accomplish, especially if the bird in question is a female from one of these species, as they are more difficult to identify than their male counterparts are. To begin this identification process, it would be beneficial to look at the bird in question and try to decide if there are any outstanding characteristics, such as brightly colored feathers covering the throat area. Next would be to try to look at the bird’s tail, hopefully it will decide to use the perch if it is feeding a feeder. If the bird does sit, still long enough for a look at its tail, pay attention to the color markings and to the shape of the tail. Is it rounded or is it forked? If the bird has a ruby-red throat and a forked tail, it is a male Ruby-throated Hummingbird, but if it has a bright orange-red throat and its crown, tail and sides area rusty colored, then the bird is a male Rufous Hummingbird. As stated earlier, females are somewhat harder to distinguish between, but if the bird in question does not fit either one of the previous descriptions, it may be a female, but which one? If the bird has an emerald green back, a white breast, throat, and a rounded tail, it is probably a female Ruby-throated Hummingbird. If the bird in question has a green back and crown, a white breast and tail feathers that are rufous with white tips, then the bird is probably a female Rufous Hummingbird.
Attracting these interesting little birds is not very difficult. There are two ways to do just such, they are to plant a hummingbird garden and /or to use hummingbird feeders filled with nectar or plain old sugar water. Either way the hummingbirds will show up, the problem is that no one can ever say how many, there may only be a few, or there may be many.
If a hummingbird garden is decided on, appropriate plants must be included which are:
Anise Hyssop Autumn sage Bee balm
Bergamot Bishop’s hat Bleeding heart
Butterfly bush Butterfly weed Cape fuchsia
Cardinal climber Cardinal flower Chaste tree
Columbines Comfrey Coral bells
Coral honeysuckle Cross vine Cypress vine
Day lily Delphininium Double Bubblemint
Firecracker plant Fireweed Foxglove
Gay feather Giant hummingbird mint Gladiolus
Glossy abelia Hollyhock Honeysuckle
Horsemint Hosta Impatiens
Indian paintbrush Ipomopsis Iris
Jewelweed Larkspur Liatris
Lilac Lily of the Nile Mexican sunflower
Milkweed, butterfly Nasturtiums Obedient plant
Penstemon Peruvian lily Phlox
Plaintain lily Red hot poker Red morning glory
Red sage Red star hibiscus Red yucca
Rhododendron Rose of Sharon Salvia
Scarlet runner bean Scarlet sage Skyrocket
Snapdragon Soapwort Sword lily
Texas betony Texas sage Tree tobacco
Tritoma Trumpet vine Zinnia
