Hummingbirds

One source of entertainment this summer has been my hummingbird feeder.  I found this one at Rycenga Building Supply in Grand Haven and brought it north when I moved.  It's a simple inverted-bottle feeder which I refill every 2-3 days with a mixture of 1 part sugar to 5 parts water, boiled for 1 minute and then allowed to cool.  The birds find it very acceptable.

My visitors are the Ruby-Throated Hummingbird (Archilochus colubris), which is the only species of hummingbird which nests east of the Mississippi.  The adult male, which is smaller than the female, has the distinctive ruby-red gorget (throat patch).  The female, roughly 3 inches long, is metallic green on top and white with gray streaks underneath.  Hummers have a wingbeat rate of 40-80 beats/second; normally fly at 30 mph, but can hit 63 mph in a dive; and, of course, it's the only bird which can fly backward.

(The birds pictured below are females.  Unfortunately, I'm using auto-focus, so the birds are slightly out-of-focus.  My SLR has its limitations.)

I knew that hummingbirds are territorial, but to see it is to believe!  I've had two adult females feeding most of the summer (the male took off for other parts a few weeks ago), and they regularly challenge each other over the feeder.  A third bird appeared earlier this week — possibly a juvenile — and I had all three zooming back and forth through the yard for over an hour!  The war was entertaining, but for the birds this is serious business, because food means survival.

A ruby-throat, hard to see against the
tree trunk, drinks from my feeder.

The hummer hovers near the feeder.  In fact, she
is checking me out, having heard my camera click.

Reassured that I'm no threat, she goes back to feeding.

Wings whirring at about 50 beats/second, the female
hovers near the feeder, alert for intruders.

Using its tongue, a bird first drinks, taking up to a dozen "sips" through its long, slender beak.  Then it will perch in a nearby tree, wipe its bill on the branch, and check for competition.  If no intruder appears, it usually goes back to the feeder for another dozen sips, and then flies off.  I've christened my two hummers Lefty and Righty, based on the direction each takes when finished feeding.  Lefty seems to have nested to the left, along the lakefront, while Righty's nest is off in the woods behind my garage.

By this time of year, hummingbirds are starting to bulk up for their annual migration.  They go through 1-1/4 cups of nectar in less than two days, instead of the 2-3 day pace maintained over the past several weeks.  As the weather cools, they will head south to the Gulf of Mexico.  Then they cross the Gulf itself — a non-stop flight of 500 miles over water — heading for their winter hangouts in Mexico, Central America, or the Caribbean Islands.  In April these snowbirds will reappear in the southern U.S. and follow the spring flowers north.  (Some folks say you should take in your feeder at the end of August to avoid encouraging the birds to stay too late.  Others contend that they will migrate on schedule, no matter what.)

By the way, I've learned not to wear a red t-shirt when working outside, because the hummingbirds fly up to see if I'm a food-source-with-legs.  It's a bit unnerving! •••