Hummingbirds: Birds that Pollinate

  • Students will learn about hummingbirds and how they act as specific pollinators to certain types of plants/ flowers.
  • Students will make their own hummingbird feeders to understand how they feed.

Duration
1-2 hours
Lesson Type
Traditional Lesson

Lesson Created By: Savannah River Ecology Lab

Collections

Essential Question

How are hummingbirds specifically designed to help pollinate flowers?

Grade(s):

  • 1

Subject(s):

Recommended Technology:

Other Instructional Materials or Notes:

Crayons
Foam paper
Pipe Cleaners
Deli Cups
Straws
2 buckets
2 cups

Lesson Progression

  • Prep
    • Activity A: trace flower patterns on foam paper. Punch holes in the lids of the deli-cups.
  • Activity A: Make a hummingbird feeder
    • Have students cut flowers tracing out of the foam paper
    • Using two pipe cleaners, have students make an X and twist the pipe cleaners together right in the center.
    • Have students poke a hole through each of the four petals with the pipe-cleaner ends and pull them through (You should have a flower cut out with 4 holes, one in each petal, and pipe-cleaner ends coming up through each of the holes).
    • Place the deli-cup on the top side of the flower, twist piper-cleaners over the top of the cup and together. This should secure the cup centered in the flower.
    • Additionally, students may make little hooks to attach to the pipe cleaners so that they can be hung up in trees.
    • Students now have a homemade hummingbird feeder that can be filled with sugar water and hung up!
  • Activity B: Relay race to feed baby birds.
    • Place two bins of water on one side of the room, this will represent the mama hummingbird gathering food. On the other side of the room have two empty cups set up, which will be the baby birds.
    • Divide the class into two teams, giving each team one straw. The straw represents the long beak of the hummingbird, that she must fill with nectar and use to bring food back to her young.
    • Have the students start, by placing the straw in the bin of water and pinching both ends shut to hold the water in.
    • Students will then race to the other end of the classroom to release the water into the cup. They must pass off the straw to the next person in line and repeat the process until all students have had the chance to play.
    • This activity should demonstrate the energy demand of collecting nectar and feeding young birds. It will also show students how the hummingbird beak is specialized to accomplish this task.

Teacher Notes

  • Ruby-throated hummingbirds are so named for the bright red coloration on the underside of their necks. Additionally, vibrant greens cover much of their feathers, making them a beautiful sight to behold. They are the only native hummingbird pollinators to South Carolina. Because of their very short legs, they fly rather than walk or hop about. They feed by hovering over flowers and extending their long tongue down into the center to pull out nectar. Hovering in place takes a lot of effort, they flap their wings nearly 50 times per second!
  • These pollinators are most attracted to orange and red flowers that are long and tubular in shape. This helps to accommodate their long beak and tongue shape. Also, these flowers tend to have large amounts of nectar, which hummingbirds need to survive. It is estimated that some 20 species of plants in the eastern U.S. have coevolved with hummingbirds, such as honeysuckle, cardinal flower, and trumpet creepers. The shape of these flowers aidS in the feeding behavior of hummingbirds while also allowing for the inadvertent collection and distribution of pollen.

Hummingbird Feeder- How To

A detailed guide on instructing your students how to make their very own hummingbird feeders. Pics included!

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