Posted on Mar 21, 2018
Why have hummingbirds turned into nonstop eating machines?
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Birding
Wildlife
Posted >1 y ago
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Our hummingbirds seem to have three functions, CW5 Jack Cardwell. They are either at our feeders, keeping other hummingbirds from “their/our” feeders, and feeding their young. Frankly, they spend as much time chasing intruders as they do anything else.
I think they eat a lot because of the energy they expend in turf protection.
LTC Stephen F.
I think they eat a lot because of the energy they expend in turf protection.
LTC Stephen F.
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LTC Stephen C.
CW5 Jack Cardwell, we have watched “our” hummingbirds with great interest. We’ve generally only put out one feeder, and we’ve never seen where more than two routinely feed there. We’ve found that usually a single “couple” will claim a feeder. They happily feed from it, but are incredibly zealous in protecting it from other hummingbirds.
Contrary to popular belief, they’re not always in motion. We’ve observed that after feeding, one of the couple will fly to an adjacent tree and guard the feeder. Unless you watch the bird actually roost in the tree, you’ll never know it’s there. They’re so small (and green) they look just like they’re part of the tree.
As soon as an intruder approaches the feeder, the guard attacks with fury. In our experience, this behavior is constant.
LTC Stephen F.
Contrary to popular belief, they’re not always in motion. We’ve observed that after feeding, one of the couple will fly to an adjacent tree and guard the feeder. Unless you watch the bird actually roost in the tree, you’ll never know it’s there. They’re so small (and green) they look just like they’re part of the tree.
As soon as an intruder approaches the feeder, the guard attacks with fury. In our experience, this behavior is constant.
LTC Stephen F.
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Thanks for sharing CW5 Jack Cardwell why hummingbirds seem to have turned into nonstop eating machines. For one thing keeping their wings flapping at the tremendous speed they do must take many calories to keep it up so they appear to be stationary as they flit about.
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