Ruby-throats
Sunday and Monday's warm weather brought more ruby-throated hummingbirds to the meadow — I think at least a dozen are hanging around the three feeders I have out in the yard.
At dusk they all show up, trying to get a snack before sleep. Sometimes they'll manage to share the feeder peacefully with one bird to a perch, but most of the time each hummingbird will try to drive the others away. Even during breeding season, hummingbirds don't pair up — after they mate, that's it. The only hummmingbirds that get along are mothers and children and, at least for a short time, siblings.
One male in particular guards the feeders vigilantly. We call him Bossy Boots.
In the background of the video, you can see one of the fluorescent orange Baltimore oriole feeders (which the hummers also use), as well as a jack pine that's leaning at a crazy angle.
May 24, 2010
At dusk they all show up, trying to get a snack before sleep. Sometimes they'll manage to share the feeder peacefully with one bird to a perch, but most of the time each hummingbird will try to drive the others away. Even during breeding season, hummingbirds don't pair up — after they mate, that's it. The only hummmingbirds that get along are mothers and children and, at least for a short time, siblings.
One male in particular guards the feeders vigilantly. We call him Bossy Boots.
In the background of the video, you can see one of the fluorescent orange Baltimore oriole feeders (which the hummers also use), as well as a jack pine that's leaning at a crazy angle.
May 24, 2010
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