Seasonal Feeding Preferences of Anna’s Hummingbirds in Victoria British Columbia
By Wishva Kosgoda
Intermediate Category (Grades 9-10)
Experiment | Biology, Environment
BCVSF Note: This is a multi-year continuation project
This project has its origin in November 2014 and was presented at the Vancouver Island Science Fair in April 2016. Subsequently, this study was also published in a peer-reviewed scientific journal (Wildlife Afield: Volume 12(2): 133-141, 2015) as the featured article. Originally, the experiment was conducted during a three-week time period and it was determined that Anna’s Hummingbirds preferred sugar-water solutions with a ratio of 1:1 as well as the preferred feed colour, red. The study presented here was motivated by a suggestion to conduct a long term observational study to better understand the variations in feeding patterns and sugar water concentration preferences of hummingbirds seasonally. It was determined that Anna’s Hummingbirds preferred sugar-water solution concentrations is 1:1, 1:2 and 4:1. These results are consistent with other studies on the west coast of North America, including a long-term study completed in Victoria, BC, two decades ago. However, some contradictions are also present.
