Winter feeding also important

LITTLE ROCK — Don McSwain and Tana Beasley urge anyone who hangs a feeder outside in the summer to attract ruby throated hummers to keep that feeder stocked with sugar water during the winter, too.

“It’s not going to make the bird stay,” Beasley says.

“When it’s time to migrate, it knows when to go and it goes,” McSwain says.

“But I’m convinced we have a large population of rufous hummingbirds that come here to stay in the winter. We banded some in December, January and February last year.”

The Potlatch Conservation Education Center is at 625 Cooks Lake Road in Casscoe. There are no road signs to direct a casual visitor and the last 1.1 miles of the trip are on a gravel road.

Drop-in visits are not allowed.

But anyone, including families and school groups, can arrange a visit by calling (870) 241-3373. More information is at www.agfc.com/education under “Nature and Education Centers.”