Hummers are on the way Put out your hummingbird feeders now. The first ruby-throated hummingbirds return the second or third week of April, and the bulk of birds begin arriving later in the month.
Ruby-throated hummingbirds nest across Minnesota, though there are far fewer reports of hummingbirds each year from the southern half of the state.
The nesting season, which is closely related to the availability of insects and wild flowers, usually is well underway by early June, though some hummingbirds are often on their nests in late May.
MINNESOTA ORNITHOLOGISTS UNION
Book in brief Author Kenn Kaufman is one of birding's best storytellers. He lived a great story when he was a teen, dropping out of school, leaving his home and his family to hitchhike around the country in pursuit of birds. His travels -- and his stories -- since have been no less adventuresome or interesting.
His latest book, "Flights Against the Sky" (Houghton Mifflin, $24), is a collection of the (mostly true) stories he tells his mother one day as she lies ill in a rehabilitation facility. The setting for the book is touching: She wanted to hear his stories; he wanted to illuminate his passion for birds.
I enjoyed reading his stories as much as his mother evidently enjoyed hearing them. But I didn't care quite as much for his discussion of his relationship with his mother. Perhaps it's the reticence that comes with my Norwegian genes, but it was the birds I wanted to hear about. To my mind, Kaufman is at his best when he's writing about birds.
JIM WILLIAMS
