Hummingbird nest

You're right--truly amazing!!

We have hummers that visit our impatiens, and we have a feeder for them. They can be quite aggressive, tho, and if we get between them and their food source they dive bomb us! We have tried to find the nest, but no luck so far. Maybe this year!

Loved the pics, Elnora. Thanks!

 

When my parents lived in NC my mom would get dive bombed when she wore a red shirt.

Wonderful link Elnora!

 

Loved the pictures Elnora, sure wish I had a camera that good.We put out several feeders so we attract a lot of humming birds but our's don't look like those in the pictures Elnora sent. I had a man tell me one time that the little fellars catch a ride on geese and go south then come back in the spring, didn't know whether to believe that one or not

 

It would be funny if it was right under my nose! I hope this year I can spot it. We have ruby-throat hummers here. They are so brilliant in the sunlight. If I could get one to light on me, I would think I had died and gone to heaven!!

 

Did you ever try sitting out near the feeder? They're quite brave. I doubt you could get it to land on you, but they'll approach within feet.

 

Yes, we sit near the feeder. It's on the corner of our deck, and the table and chairs are quite close. They buzz around us all the time, and come close to our faces and hover. It's so close, we can feel the air move from their wings. But we have never had one land on us. Maybe I'll try holding a flower or something.

You're right! They are quite brave. To be so small, they are very aggressive. If they were any bigger, we wouldn't be able to go outdoors. Beware of sitting too near the impatients, or you get dive-bombed!

 

I got to hold one once. One flew into the cabin we were living in on the Prince William Sound, and it exhausted itself flying against the window. When I picked it up, it was almost as if it were looking at me in defeat; like I was going to eat it or something. It was very delicate, and I let it go outside. I think it returned, because we only saw one at a time, and we continued seeing one after that.

This may sound silly, but that is one of my favorite memories; getting to hold such a delicate one of God's creatures in my hands.

 

Hope of Glory, what species was it? I didn't realize you have hummers in The Great White North! We have rufus and ruby-throated ones down here.

It would be a remarkable experience to hold one. I would love to have the chance.

 

Thanks for the pics! They are amazing! Hummingbirds have always fascinated me. And they're smart. We didn't hang up a HB feeder yet this year. Last year a praying mantis was hanging around for hours on the screen door next to the HB feeder. I went on the Internet and found out they like to attack and eat hummingbirds and was shocked to find it out. You can find anything on the Internet!

 

AFAIK, we only have ruby-throated ones here. They seem to be the most wide-spread of all of them. According to Nat Geo, some species only live in an area of a few square miles. (Now that was a cool issue!)

 

Okay, you won't believe this, but the very next morning, I was looking out the screen door (next to the chain where the HB feeder used to hang), talking to a robin, when all of a sudden, a hummingbird flew up, hovered, looked in at me, turned and looked at the empty chain, turned back to look at me, chirped, and flew off.

Went to the store and bought a new HB feeder, hung it up, and he is now enjoying his nectar.

This has to be one of the same HBs from last year, because he knew where the feeder was supposed to be. Considering the tiny fella probably flew clear across the Gulf of Mexico in the winter and then came back to Tennessee, to the very spot from last year and "told" me he was back, I find that truly wondrous. And some people say there is no God or we "evolved." Only God can make a brain so tiny that has the reasoning power like that, Folks!