RUBY-THROATED HUMMINGBIRDS are likely the most common hummingbird species in the world, but there is much to be learned about their life history—especially with regard to what they do the six months of the year when they’re not at our feeders and flowers in the eastern U.S. Dr. Bill Hilton Jr., principal investigator for “Operation RubyThroat: The Hummingbird Project,” is the only scientist studying these hummers on the OTHER end of their migratory path in Central America. During his hour-long Zoom presentation, Dr. Hilton will share some of the exciting results of his 30-plus citizen science hummingbird expeditions to the Neotropics, followed by time for questions and answers about these amazing little birds that break all the rules.
Date: Wednesday December 2, 2020
Time: 7:00 – 8:15 PM
Location: Zoom Virtual Video
Fee: FREE
Meet the Speaker:
Dr. Bill Hilton Jr., Executive Director, Hilton Pond Center for Piedmont Natural History, York, SC
DR. BILL HILTON JR. was twice named South Carolina Science Teacher of the Year and was honored as the state’s Outstanding Biology Teacher. In December 2008 Discover magazine cited him as one of “50 Best Brains in Science” and one of ten top amateur scientists in America. Based at Hilton Pond Center for Piedmont Natural History in York SC, Dr. Hilton is an life-long educator-naturalist with a keen interest in all things in nature. An active field researcher, Hilton has banded more than 71,000 birds of 127 species during 39 years just at Hilton Pond. He is one of only about 200 people authorized to capture wild hummingbirds and has banded and released more than 6,600 Ruby-throated Hummingbirds at the Center since 1984, with 3,000-plus captured elsewhere. He also investigates other aspects of natural history, from pollination to predation and ecological succession to environmental change.
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