|
|
|
|
|
|
|
While working at my computer early one March morning, I saw movement out my window. When I turned to look I saw a small iridescent green bird perched at one of my feeders. As I watched, it lifted off the feeder in a backward motion and glided over to my window . It hovered there in front of me as if to say, "Aren't I beautiful" and he was! I knew it was a 'he' because of the large iridescent red gorget he displayed to me which is the distinct markings of the male Ruby-throated Hummingbird. You can see two males in the pictures at the top of this page. The male hummer is usually the first to arrive and he begins to establish his territory. It is thought, although it varies with the food availability, that his territory is about 1/4 of an acre and he will defend this territory quite agressively as will the female. I rarely have seen two hummers at the same feeder at the same time. Instead, I usually see one dive-bombing the other to chase it away. I suggest that you set up more than one feeder some distance apart. I have one in my front yard and the other in the back yard. I am constantly amazed at the flight agility of the hummingbirds. They can fly forward, backward, and even upside down briefly, which they do by spreading their tail and performing a backward somersault. It is this amazing flight agility that has caused me to call them Nature's Helicopter. You can watch some hummers on this video from a YouTube member. I am envious of their ability to record these amazing little birds. With the wide array of hummingbird feeders now available, it is so easy to attract the beautiful little birds to your yard. You can make your own nectar so that you keep a fresh supply of their food source available all the time. There are many flowering plants that also attract the hummingbird and provide more food source when in bloom. I have a Shrimp plant that is very popular with my hummers. It has tubular flowers and is red in color which seems to be two of the features that attract the hummer to a flower. While flower nectar is an important energy source for hummingbirds, insects are an important protein source for the hummer. They spend a lot of time catching insects in midair, finding them on leaves, spider webs, and branches. Interestingly, they have also been seen eating sap from sapsuckers holes. As a Florida native, I have only been able to enjoy the visits of the Ruby-throated Hummingbird as it is the only species that breeds in the eastern half of the United States and southern Canada. The other 15 species of hummingbirds that regularly occur in North America breed in the West. After saying that, I must mention that there has been documentation of western species showing up in the East, especially in late fall.
|
POLL: Have you ever been ripped off? YES / NO
|