Operation Ruby Throat - Citizen Science Expeditions for Professional Development - Jan-Mar 2010 - Events

Sep 21, 2009 to Oct 30, 2009
Location: Costa Rica, Belize, Guatemala
Latest Activity: Feb 25, 2022

Ruby-throated Hummingbirds (RTHU), Archilochus colubris, are the most widely distributed of the 339 species of hummingbirds, occurring in all ten countries of North and Central America. They come frequently to nectar plants and backyard sugar water feeders and are easily observed. Nonetheless, many aspects of RTHU natural history are not well understood, so “Operation RubyThroat: The Hummingbird Project” has teamed with EarthTrek to allow citizen scientists to collect data about RTHU migration and nesting.Operation RubyThroat has been in operation since 1984 as a outreach initiative of Hilton Pond Center for Piedmont Natural History in York, South Carolina USA. The project is also affiliated with The GLOBE Program, through which K-12 teachers and students make hummingbird observations and submit data through the GLOBE Web site. Now, through EarthTrek, adult citizen scientists and independent students also can contribute important data to the overall Operation RubyThroat projectOperation RubyThroat principal investigator Bill Hilton Jr. leads mid-winter hummingbird expeditions to Costa Rica, Guatemala, and Belize. During the past five years, Bill and more than a hundred citizen scientists who accompanied him have made some remarkable discoveries about RTHU behavior in the Neotropics. To learn about these successes—or to find out how you can join Bill on one of his exciting trips in 2010—please see Operation RubyThroat’s Tropical Hummingbird Expeditions. These trips to Central America are coordinated through Holbrook Travel, one of EarthTrek's concept partners.While in the Neotropics we will continue to collect RTHU data so you can earn additional EarthTrek points through your participation in Operation RubyThroat.

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