By Gary S. Norton
Two mysteries came together for me this spring. First, what kind of bird flew past my windows with such great speed that I could not identify it, and second, could I entice a hummingbird to use a feeder hung on my front porch. You can guess that the blur was in fact my new neighbor, the Ruby-throated Hummingbird. A friend noted my interest in these smallest of birds and my wish for a feeder. Once I opened the gift box and assembled the feeder, I went to my computer, as most of us do in this modern technological age, and goggled for information on hummingbirds. There are many; Google tells me that there are 10,200,000 or more entries for hummingbirds. I quickly learned how to prepare the liquid �food� which is one part sugar to four parts water. The information also stated that the feeder requires only basic maintenance. One needs to rinse the feeder with hot water and to soak it in bleach once a month. Simple. A canary in a cage requires much more care than that.
With the feeder hung on my porch near the window next to my favorite reading chair, I started to watch for hummingbirds. The same day I hung the feeder, I visited the Bath County Library, searching the shelves for information on hummingbirds. When I mentioned my quest to a woman using the computer, she told me that hummingbirds always come to Bath County on April 28. This was profound data, and I wondered how the hummingbirds knew exactly what date to relocate to their summer home. Other experts, writing on the Internet, also gave arrival dates with an error factor of plus or minus two days. Thinking that I would get a week�s head start for their arrival, I could not stop myself from watching the feeder. The first hummer flew in to feed the next day, April 22, Earth Day, and my birthday. What an extraordinary and special birthday present.
The bird hovered exactly as shown in the pictures and movies that I have seen. It flew forward and backwards, up and down, side to side, and fed at my feeder. I was elated to see a magnificent hummingbird only inches away sucking up sugar water at the newly installed feeder. Actually, it was now their feeder and I was only the maintenance person.
Indeed, �hummers� have legs, which they use to perch on limbs, wires, and other items. While that may not sound unusual, I have never seen a picture or movie that showed a hummer using its legs. They just do not use them for walking. Now that there is a convenient location for prepared sugar water, or nectar to them, they perch nearby in bushes close to the feeder and on the wires strung across the yard. They would not appear if it were not for the feeder. I sit at my computer and see them buzz by to sit on the electrical wires outside my home-office window. The most popular hummingbird in Bath County is the Ruby-throated Hummingbird, which is named for the male and his iridescent ruby red gorget (throat). Both male and female have an iridescent emerald green back. The female has a white breast and throat. She is larger than the male, with a longer bill. I was amazed at their size. I knew they were small, but I was unprepared to see how extremely tiny they are. Hummingbirds are no bigger than my thumb, and much of that size is feathers. Hold three regular-sized paperclips in your hand and that is the weight of a hummer, just 1/8 ounce or 3.1grams.
Once, while removing the feeder to refill it, a male flew by on his new flyway, probably coming to have some nectar. I immediately recognized why they are named hummingbirds. The �humming� caused by the rapid beat of their wings is rather loud and distinctive. Now, while sitting near the feeder, I note their presence by the distinctive humming, which comes through the open window or porch door. The male circled me several times searching for the feeder and may have wondered why I was walking away with his nectar supply. I felt guilty, a thief filching their food. Once I replaced the feeder full of sugar water, they all returned in a few minutes.
One does not have to wait long for the hummers to feed. One is at the feeder every ten to twenty minutes. Then at dusk, there seems to be a flurry of activity as they buzz each other and there is a hummer at the feeder most all the time. One pair has chosen the feeder as its own. The male, perched nearby for approximately eighty percent of the day, will protect it against other interlopers. The frenzy at dusk is primarily the �owners� fending off other hummers, and I surmise, stocking up for the night. These �Hummer Wars� are an interesting spectacle.
Normally, at an average feeding, the females take from four to ten sips, and then fly off without much caution coming or going. They feed longer and more often than the male. The male is more cautious and surveys the porch and surroundings with more diligence. It is fascinating to see a bird do something completely unnatural, stopping in flight to look around. He will come to the feeder, hover, look me right in the eye, and then feed. After every sip, during which his head is in the flower on the feeder, he backs up, turns toward me, hovers, checks me out, turns back toward the flower, and sips again. He repeats this procedure four or five times and flies away. I am certain there are at least two pairs of hummingbirds, as that is how many I have counted at the feeder at one time. My next feeder is going to be blown clear glass so I can see their tongs sipping the nectar.
Nesting season occurs in late spring. At that time, they will visit the feeder less until the eggs hatch and the children are mobile and accompany their parents at the feeder. Mom and pop will tolerate the children�s presence until they become older and at that time, the parents will chase them away and not share their feeder.
Lanny Chambers at http://www.hummingbirds.net is an excellent source of information on hummingbirds. He writes that the Ruby-throated Hummingbird wings average around 53 beats per second in normal flight and their hearts beat at a rate of 1260 beats per minute. Hummers are fully capable of traveling astounding distances. It is generally accepted by scientists that most Ruby-throats fly north, non-stop (18-20 hours) across the Gulf of Mexico. They travel north from Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean in the spring, all the way into southern Canada, then back south in the fall. They fly at 30 mph (48 kph) normal, 50 mph (80 kph) escape; no wonder they are a blur when flying past my window. Chambers writes, �Ruby-throats are intensely inquisitive and thus easily attracted to feeders, where males in particular typically display aggressive territoriality toward rival hummers, other birds, and even insects such as bees, butterflies, and sphinx moths. They quickly become accustomed to human presence, and will swoop down to investigate red articles of clothing.�
My new hummingbird feeder has allowed me an opportunity to become acquainted with Ruby-throated Hummingbirds. They are exceedingly enjoyable neighbors and the symbiotic relationship between us provides beneficial nourishment to each of us. The birds receive much-needed calories, which are required for them to hunt and find insects. I receive spiritual nourishment from enjoying the interaction with nature.
