Fun With Hummingbirds

The Ruby-throated Hummingbirds have been putting on quite a show this afternoon following another heavy thunderstorm that moved though the area. At least 8-10 are fighting over the six feeders. I've only seen 3 males with the rest of the crew made up of females and immatures.

A pair of immature males has been the most entertaining. One will be on the feeder when it is dive-bombed by the other and they begin this midair joust were they face off and fly about 20 to 30 feet straight up. Sometimes they will slowly descend and repeat the score. Other times they come tumbling down in the grasp of one another, not letting lose of each other until they almost hit the ground. I have noticed that a couple of the feeders have seen a changing of the guard in the last few days. The feeder outside my computer room window is presently owned by a immature male. It was the domain of an adult male (no way to tell if it was the same one) for the last several months.

It's amazing how much fun you can have with some water and a couple of pounds of sugar!