Here at the summers peak we thought it would be a good time to high light one of our favorite flying sites of the season; hummingbirds. The hummingbird is the smallest bird and also the smallest of all animals that have a backbone. The common Ruby Throated Hummingbird that most people are familiar with weighs about 3 grams. Ruby-throated hummingbirds are about 3 1/2 inches from the tip of their beaks to the tip of their tales.
Hummingbirds can beat their wings up to 80 times a second during normal flight and up to 200 times per second during a courtship dive. Unlike other birds, a hummingbird can rotate its wings in a circle. Because of this special hummingbird fact, they are the only bird that can fly both forwards and backwards. They can also fly up, down, sideways, hover in one spot, or fly upside down for short distances.
Normal flight speed for hummingbirds is about 25 miles per hour, but they have been clocked at speeds in excess of fifty miles per hour during their courtship dives. During normal flight a hummingbirds wings beat about 60-80 times per second. In their courtship dives they might beat up to 200 times per second. A courtship dive is an elaborate display of flight performed by the male hummingbird at the start of the nesting season.
Hummingbirds have the highest metabolism rate of any animal on earth. They have a high breathing rate, a high heart rate, and a high body temperature. A hummingbird has a heart rate that can reach up to 1,260 beats per minute. To maintain all of this and to provide energy for flying they may consume anywhere from 2/3 to 3 times their body weight in food each day. Their high-energy lifestyle compels hummingbirds to locate reliable food resources.
Hummingbirds will feed 5 to 8 times every hour for 30 to 60 seconds at a time. The large portion of a hummingbirds diet is sugar which they get from flower nectar and tree sap. Hummingbirds don't always depend entirely on flowers. Hummingbirds also eat insects and pollen to get protein to build muscle. During the breeding season, in particular, hummingbirds will hover mid-air and catch small flying insects to eat and feed to their nestlings. In northern and high-elevation areas, hummingbirds depend upon sap-wells of woodpeckers known as sapsuckers. The woodpeckers are able to keep the sugary sap of trees flowing and the hummers sneak in and take advantage of their work.
Hummingbirds are very territorial and will perch in trees, vines or bushes, between feedings to watch the area and will attack other birds that might try to feed at their food source. Hummingbirds are for the most part unsociable. When more than one hummingbird is around, it is often a scene of repeated high-speed chases. In many cases, hummingbirds defend small territories around a favorite flower patch, and do so even during brief stop-overs for refueling during migration.
The hummingbirds' bills are long and tapered to match perfectly with the tubular shaped blooms on which they like to feed. Their tongue is grooved on the sides to collect nectar which they lap up at the rate of 13 licks per second. Hummingbirds are also very helpful in pollinating the plants on which they feed. There are some plants that are only pollinated by hummingbirds. As they lap up the nectar, pollen from the bloom is rubbed off onto the hummingbird, then carried to the next bloom as it continues to feed.
Flowers that attract hummingbirds provide a large amount of nectar with a substantial sugar content to support the demanding hummingbird life style. Sugar content averages about 26%, which is double what you get in a soft drink. But the nectar can't be too concentrated and sticky because hummingbirds rely on a long tube-like tongue to draw nectar into their mouth through wicking action (like the force that brings water up a straw when you stick the straw in a glass). They tend to have red or orange petals or bracts, which provide a long-distance sign to a fast-flying hummingbird that it should take notice. The flowers are often long and tubular so that a long narrow bill and tongue are required to extract the nectar and often hang down and point downward so that a hovering bird has the easiest access.
Plants to Attract and Feed Hummingbirds:
Trees and Shrubs -Azalea, Butterfly Bush, Weigela
Vines - Honeysuckle, Morning Glory, Trumpet Vine
Perennials - Bee Balm, Canna, Cardinal Flower, Columbine, Coral Bells, Four O'Clocks, Foxglove, Hosta, Agastache, Lupine, Penstemon
Annuals - Fuchsia, Impatiens, Petunia, Salvia
They are also easily attracted to Hummingbird nectar feeders.
Mix 1 part sugar with 4 parts water and bring to a boil to kill any bacteria or mold present.
Cool and fill feeder. Extra, unused, hummingbird nectar can be stored in the refrigerator for up to one week. When making your own nectar, adjust the recipe quantity to only make enough for one week to eliminate waste. Clean hummingbird feeders at least once a week and refill them with fresh nectar. In warm weather or when multiple birds are using the feeder, clean them more frequently.
The use of red dye in hummingbird nectar recipes is a controversial issue. While hummingbirds are attracted to bright colors, especially red, some red dyes in the 1970s were found to be toxic. Today, red dyes found in food coloring and commercial hummingbird nectar are safe for both human and animal consumption, but the color is not necessary to attract the birds. Many hummingbird feeders have red bases, feeding ports or other accents that will attract the birds without risking the use of unessential dyes. If you want to use red to attract more hummingbirds to your feeders, consider planting red flowers nearby or adding a red gazing ball near the feeder to help catch the birds’ attention.
(Information was compiled from several sources found via a Google search of the term 'Hummingbird')
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