It is prime time for hummers. The "new batches" have learned how to eat at the feeders and now they are practicing their dogfighting skills. We saw maybe 4 at a time (their parents) earlier this summer, but now it's more like 8 to 10 and we are filling the feeders every day! These videos were taken on Friday, August 27th, just after a thunderstorm...sorry they aren't too colorful. But you can certainly hear them chirping at each other (turn up your volume.) These are Black-chinned Hummingbirds and they will be migrating to Arizona or Mexico starting in a week or two. Here are a few interesting facts:
Hummers consume half their weight in sugar each day. They feed for 30 to 60 seconds, five to eight times per hour from sun-up to sundown. They sip nectar at the rate of 13 licks per second. The sugar water is only fuel for catching insects, their main source of nutrition. The hummingbird's heart beats 1,260 times per minute. A resting hummingbird takes 250 breaths per minute. The metabolism of a hummingbird is equal to an average man who would eat 285 lbs. of hamburger per day to maintain his weight!
We certainly enjoy watching them while we eat on the deck. They hardly notice us, but sometimes they come over within 6" and stare us down.
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