Pollinators are incredibly important to the sustainability of our plants. Many people have become more aware of this importance and can find pollinator-specific plant sections in local nurseries. Pollinators are animals or insects that help move pollen from one plant to another – a vital service to our planet. Some examples of pollinators include bees, birds, butterflies, humans, rodents, and more. One special relationship in our park is that between Rufous Hummingbirds and salmonberries.

Bees and Butterflies

Bee and butterfly populations are beginning to suffer because of climate change as well as pesticide, herbicide, and fungicide use on farms, gardens, and lawns. Between 75% and 95% of flowering plants – including many fruits, vegetables, nuts, oils, and other fibers and raw materials – require pollinators to reproduce.

In the U.S., we have over 4,000 species of native bees, who are champion pollinators! While many people fear bees, there is no reason to. As long as you don’t threaten them, they will not sting you. It is incredibly important that we keep bees safe! Some crops that depend on bees include almonds, apples, beans, berries, pears, lettuce, kale, garlic, squash, watermelon, and so many more.

Butterflies are less specialized pollinators than bees but are still important in plant reproduction. While bees move quickly to different flowers in a certain area and then fly off back to the hive, butterflies are more leisurely and take their time. Because of this slow, wandering nature, they provide the valuable service of moving pollen farther which increases genetic diversity and cross pollinating.

Bees one might see in the park include yellow-faced bumblebee, tricolored (or orange-belted) bumblebee, and yellow bumblebee, as well as the introduced and ubiquitous honey bee. The larger common butterflies in the area include western tiger swallowtail, anise swallowtail, mourning cloak, Lorquin’s admiral, and painted lady.  Smaller butterflies include the pine white and cabbage white.

Rufous Hummingbird

Hummingbirds are the smallest birds, with the smallest weighing just 1.95 grams.  Likewise, their nests and eggs are tiny – each egg is about as small as a pea and the nests are about the size of a walnut shell.  Hummingbirds are incredibly fast and agile and are one of the few vertebrates that can hover in the air.  In general, these small birds have the longest migrations if measured by body size.    

Rufous Hummingbirds are local migrants to Bridle Trails, arriving in March.  Males have a bright orange/copper back and belly with a vividly red and iridescent throat.  Females are green with a spot of orange on their throat and rusty patches in the tail.  Since these hummers like to nest in open areas, they are usually spotted in the park along the power line trail in spring and summer.  Hummingbirds vocalize simple chips and trills and if you observe their courtship display of a steep U dive, you will hear a chattering sound that comes from the air moving through their feathers.

Salmonberry

A member of the rose family, salmonberry is native to the Pacific Northwest and is only found outside of this area in Japan.  It is often found in disturbed areas, coastal forests, and near bodies of water.  This shrub produces delicious salmon-colored to red berries in early summer that look like yellow-orange versions of raspberries.  It can be identified by the butterfly shaped leaflets and small pink flowers.  This plant has been used as a food and medicinal source by Native Americans for thousands of years and makes a delicious jam!

Relationship in Bridle Trails

Hummingbirds have an incredible memory and are able to return to the exact same spots for food each year.  In our park, one of those spots is the red-flowering current and salmonberry bushes along the powerline trail.  Salmonberries are one of the first flowers to pop up in spring, which is precisely what rufous hummers need along their migration from Mexico and the southern US. The timing works out perfectly and if you are patient you will often see or hear Rufous Hummingbirds in this area!  There are flowers in gardens that bloom in the winter, but that resource is taken by the local and non-migratory Anna’s hummingbird, which relies heavily on hummingbird feeders in yards. 

More information:

Visit these Audubon webpages to learn how to create a hummingbird friendly yard and how to make your own hummingbird nectar.

Check out this short video from the Burke Museum on how hummingbirds feed and fight.

Check out this Deep Look video for more information on hummingbird flight.

Photo credits: All About Birds, Biodiversity of the Central Coast (flower), The Wild Garden (berry), and DIY From Scratch (leaf), Hummingbird Bliss, USFWS.