Sometimes hummers aren't so cute!

Al Hansen

Al Hansen

Well-known member
As the mirgration of hummers is now in full swing, the feeders are being visited almost constantly now. This year our rufous adult males arrived a week early which I thought was interesting. The two varieties that move through this area would be the calliope and rufous hummers. The first to migrate happen to be the adult males. Normally any females that we have now would be from the two varieties that nest here. They are the black-chinned and the broad-tailed hummers.

These two sets of pictures will show you that most hummers are very fiesty! There is a lot going on when they are at a feeder.
Al

In this series of 7 pictures, I took a total of 17 picture that took just a hair over 2 seconds with the burst mode I was using. The adult female black-chinned hummingbird will intimidate if at all possible. She normally is much large than any of the males that we have so that is her ACE. I'm sure she also must think that this is her feeder since she has most likely been here since the beginning of April. The adult male rufous, with his bright orange gorget, didn't seem to pay much attention at first but finally gave into her pesky ways.

I was sitting in a patio chair 3 feet from the feeder. The feeder was hanging down to the same level as I was so it was but a mere 28 inches off the ground. I was using a 24-105mm L lens with my Canon 7D. The time of day happened to be right after supper around 6:30PM

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The last set is just two pictures. Guess what? The aggressor is another or the same adult black-chinned female. This time she was picking on North America's smallest bird which is the adult male calliope. He is just 3 1/2 inches long. Notice that "big mama" is using her beak and it worked like a charm. Normally spears do!


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Hi Al thanks for the great hummers pictures. You said that was in the evening do you see more activity later in the day as I do here?
 
Thanks for the comments, Keith. Normally I will see them until almost dark and then in the morning they are the first ones stirring. Just glad that they go into torpor for the night. Our calliope and rufous males will stick around here until the middle of August and when our night time temps start falling towards 60F that is when they leave to head south.

Soon the adult females and juveniles of the above two species will begin arriving and the numbers will increase. This year we don't have as many hummers as we did last year because our state is so wet and there is much food for them so they are spread out.

Keith, I got lucky with this picture. First time ever I got one grabbing an insect. No, my eyes aren't that good. I had taken some pictures and had them on the computer when I noticed it. 7-20-12

When will your ruby throated leave the area you live in?
Al


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Quite the photo essay, Al, thanks for sharing. I'll be in your neighborhood mid-late Sept in the Lincoln Natl. Forest. Which species may I get lucky enough to see? A couple of years ago while hunting in central Colorado we had two hummer feeders in camp and spent many hours being entertained by them.
 
Hey Pete. First of all, good luck on the elk hunt. Don't hesitate to stop by if you should head west. As for the hummers, you will most likely see the broad-tailed variety. They seem to prefer the higher altitudes around here. When I had climbed to the top of Mt. Baldy in the Magdalena's just to our west I had an adult male hovering above my head. Hard to believe because I was standing at 10,783 feet. It gets cold up there at night. This variety will hang around until the first part of October before heading for Mexico.
Al

Pete, I just located two pictures of a male broad-tailed hummingbird. I think Bev told me that his gorget is green.


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I am always amazed at the bird life I see at altitude. I guess it doesn't bother them all that much. When I saw them at camp in Co., we were at 9000 ft.
 
Pete, if it wasn't for their ability to use torpor, they would starve to death before morning when they first go out to feed. It also gives the female a chance to stay on a nest if it would be raining and cold. It is amazing what they can do.
Al
 
A,l
I live in NE Ohio and I have a Black throated humming bird at my feeder for the last week and half?
Love your pics.
Ken
 
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Thanks so much, John. As for that picture you referred to it was pure simple luck. I only knew about it when I was looking at the pictures on my computer screen. Glad I didn't delete it.
Al
 
Ken,
Maybe you have a black-chinned hummer that wandered too far northeast. Things like that happen once in a while. If you ever get the chance to see sun glitter off of its gorget it should be dark purple. If that is it, then you know what you are looking at.

Glad you enjoyed the pictures.
Al


Does it look like this, Ken?

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Here is the same adult male black-chinned hummer with a touch of light glittering off its gorget.



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I just found this one, Ken. Maybe it would be more helpful.

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Al
haven't seen the sun on it but the black is from the bottom of the eye down on the side of the head as seen in your pics. Thanks for posting those.
Thanks again
Ken
 
Hi Ken,
I looked this one up and thought you might see the one you saw at your home. As you will see, there are 17 different hummers that have been identified in New Mexico. We see only four of them regularly but I sure would love to see some others. (black-chinned, broad-tailed, rufous, and calliope)
Al


http://beautyofbirds.com/hummingbirdsnewmexico.html
 
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