Over the last decades, the global climate has been changing faster than ever before. Not surprisingly, the changes in climate may lead to changes in species. For instance, the Ruby-throated Hummingbird (Archilochus colubris) responses to the warming climate with approximately two weeks advancement in spring arrival dates in North America, according to Courter at al:
Ruby-throated Hummingbirds arrived earlier in the more recent period throughout the eastern United States; these advances, however, varied by latitude from 11.4 to 18.2 days, with less pronounced changes above 41°N. Warmer winter and spring temperatures in North American breeding grounds were correlated with earlier arrivals at lower latitudes in our recent period. Surprisingly, Ruby-throated Hummingbirds arrived later at high latitudes (42–43°N) during warmer winters and later at both mid- and high latitudes (38–39, 41–44°N) during warmer springs, which perhaps indicates extended migratory stopovers below 40°N during these years.
Source:
Jason, R. C. et al. (2013). Assessing migration of Ruby-throated Hummingbirds (Archilochus colubris) at broad spatial and temporal scales. The Auk, 130 (1): 107-117.
I photographed this Ruby-throated Hummingbird at Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge (NY) in 2011.
Gear: Canon EOS 7D, Canon 300mm F/4 lens, Canon 1.4x extender, Canon Speedlight 430EX flash, Manfrotto tripod.
