Fifth Wonder of Hummingbirds Festival art by Vickie Henderson

One of Knoxville's most popular summer events is the annual Wonder of Hummingbirds Festival. This year’s festival is scheduled for Saturday, August 22 from 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at Ijams Nature Center located at 2915 Island Home Boulevard. Admission is only $5.00 for a day filled with special events which include renowned speakers on nature topics, live animal demonstrations, guided nature walks, food and drink vendors, arts and crafts, bird feeders and supplies, garden items, and other nature-related items. Children under six are admitted free to the festival.

This is hummingbird breeding season during which Ruby-throated males give fast chase to females visiting nectar feeders in their territory. Other than feeder activity, most of what is happening during hummingbird nesting season remains a mystery to the average hummingbird enthusiast. David Pitts, Professor of Biology at UT Martin, has made it his business to find and monitor hummingbird nests in his yard in middle Tennessee, and his results are intriguing. His research is revealing previously unknown information about where Ruby-throated hummingbirds nest, how close together females build their nests, and how many seasons the nests remain in use. Dr. Pitts will present his research at the Festival.

Visitors to the festival will also get a close view of hummingbirds with master bander Mark Armstrong as he demonstrates how hummingbirds are captured, weighed, measured, and banded before released to continue their migration journey.

August and September are busy migration months in east Tennessee when thousands of hummingbirds from northern breeding territories are moving south through our state on their way to wintering grounds in Central America and southern Mexico.

Naturalist Paula Schneeberger will present a slide show for children and lead them on a nature walk. Steve McGaffin, Naturalist and Educator for the Knoxville Zoo, will lead a butterfly walk. Other nature walks will be held throughout the day. Lynne McCoy, a wildlife rehabilitator who takes in 600-800 birds and mammals per year, will bring a few of her mammals and birds of prey to meet festival visitors, and Dr. Louise Conrad, Ijams’ veterinarian, will exhibit Ijams’ resident rat snake.

Expert speakers will give programs from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 pm. T. David Pitts will speak on hummingbirds. David Unger, Professor of Biology, Maryville College, will speak on bears and other predators. Chris Ogle, with TWRA, will talk about the Golden Eagle Project in Tennessee.

Stephen Lyn Bales, naturalist and author, will speak about the Secrets of our Backyard Birds.

Hummingbird banding will take place from 8 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. The festival is co-sponsored by the Knoxville Chapter of the Tennessee Ornithological Society and Ijams Nature Center.

For more information about the festival or to join the festivities as a volunteer, contact Billie Cantwell at 865-567-4273.