Hummingbird Puddle

You heard of the ballet Swan Lake haven't you? Well, this is Hummingbird Puddle. Watch your step.

This is my second attempt to capture the zoomming flutter beauty of these little self-centered creatures.

At almost the end of the hummingbird season we put out two hummingbird feeders and have enjoyed watching the different hummingbirds duel around the feeders and chase each other around. Also watching their fancy aerial tricks, hovering, fling backwards, sideways, and doing loops so quickly the human eye can hardly keep up.

While trying to film this video one darted straight for me between my eyes going very fast. I leaned and it whizzed by only to almost get hit by another the hb in pursuit.

Anna did some on-line research on hummingbirds and found out some very interesting facts:

They are the only bird that can fly backward, sideways, and hover.

They can rotate their wings in a complete circle.

Their feet are weakest part of them.

They are they only type of amall bird that has a backbone.

When they roost they go into a state of being sort of like hibernation, called torpor, when to conserve energy. Their bodies just shuts down. Sometimes in this state the feet will loosen the grip some and the H birds will end up upside down on the limb but when the sun wakes them up, they fly off, from an upside down position.

In the winter some migrate to Mexico and return in the summer. Some of those that go to Mexico migrate back taking a short cut over the Gulf of Mexico. They have to fly over water for 500 miles. That is 500 miles as the crow flies, or as the hummingbird flies.

The male does some aerial shows for a prospective mate by diving and climbing in the air at a high rate of speed (60mph). Their dive and climb show off draws an invisible U going the 60mph.

They have the largest brain size of any bird.

They also flap their wings at a high rate of speed, many flaps per second, I forgor how many. Which brings up thir muscles: We didn't read it, but surely they have huge wing muscles. If you pluckd a hummingbird's feather off I bet it would look like tiny little Mr. Universe.

Sometimes when on-line researching you will find conflicting information. One site said there are some hummingbirds that do not migrate south for the winter, so keep out your feeders. Another site said if you do not bring in your feeders when it is time for them migrate you will confuse them which could mess up their migration patterns, which could cost them their life if they linter around too long after it turns cold.

After all they are cold-blooded creatures and need all the help they can get.