The Tiny Hummingbird: A Flying Marvel

Reader Contribution by Bruce Mcelmurray
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One of the most entertaining birds that visit us every year are hummingbirds. We have two prevalent species here in the mountains which are the Broadtail and the Rufus species. We watch them throughout the summer by putting feeding stations outdoors where we can see them from a window. They are entertaining and highly interesting all at the same time. Such a small bird is a marvel of engineering and flying ability. We have noted that one male Rufus hummingbird which migrates back each year seems to be more territorially dominant so we put a single station out front that he likes to guard and chase the rest of the hummingbirds away from. All summer long he will diligently perch on the top of the bar holding the feeder and chase the other birds away while the remaining 25-50 hummingbirds are slurping up the nectar in the back of the house undisturbed. We feed them a sugar nectar which consists of a mix of one cup of cane sugar to four cups of water which is a ratio that seems to satisfy the tiny birds. It is a little lighter than some recommendations but they seem to thrive off it. We sometimes go through a gallon per day at peak summer feeding times. Some people put red food coloring in the water but we have found that unnecessary and do not believe it is good for them. Our feeders have plenty of red on them as depicted in the photo and that seems enough red to attract them and seems to be their preferred color.

Our Special Handicapped Female Hummingbird

Having them around much of the summer we were curious about their habits and unique flying ability especially because one female broadtail had flown into the window trying to avoid a more aggressive one chasing her. It knocked her out and she appeared to have been slightly injured. Fortunately we saw it happen and went out and picked her up, gave her some gentle massage and managed to revive her. She survived but has a distinct way of perching on the feeder now and sometimes just sits there in a trance-like state. That was three years ago and she has returned to the same precise spot at the feeder each year. For the most part it is hard to tell one from the other but with this female we can pick her out of a group of similar birds. We stop feeding them on Labor Day each year so they will not hang around too long and be caught in winter weather.

Unique Hummingbird Characteristics

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