What is it about hummingbirds that fascinates us? And by us I don’t just mean bird lovers and bird watchers, I mean the population at large. Everyone with more than a square foot of outside space is trying to lure hummingbirds to their little patch of green. You don’t have to look hard to see the bright red plastic feeders, usually full of their red nectar. Perhaps the great attraction of the hummingbird is that they are indeed so elusive. Even when they do come to one’s feeder, they are there and gone in a flash, and unlike Speedy Gonzales, they don’t leave a trail of dust in their wake. We are just left wondering if we did actually see that flash of movement, or did we imagine it?

But not everyone has to wonder. My parents have had a lot of luck with hummingbirds up on the southeastern edge of Lake Ontario. They have been feeding them for almost ten years. They have armies of hummingbirds come to their feeders, easily fifteen to twenty different birds through the course of the day. And to be honest, they didn’t have instant success. There were a few years of persistence before they got to where they are now. The hummingbirds frequent their feeders. Often there is more than one bird at a time. They also sit, and sip for extended periods of time. Sometimes they just sit to hangout. One of their regulars, a male who has been dubbed “Chubby” just sits on the pole above the feeder, checking out who else is around. My mother actually bought him a swing. Honest, there is someone out there marketing swings specifically for hummingbirds. I have a sneaking suspicion this may be the same company that decided trees need faces. Chubby doesn’t actually use the swing. I think he thinks hummingbird swings are silly too.

Despite how easy my parents make it look, attracting hummingbirds is very hard work. Timing is key. Getting the feeder outside by mid-May when the birds are returning from the south is the best way to attract them. Location of your feeder is also important, not just for attracting the birds, but also for helping to keep them healthy. Putting their sugar water in the sun can greatly shorten its longevity, and drinking bad sugar water/nectar can really harm the little guys. But who are these elusive, tiny little birds? Lets take a closer look at the Ruby-Throated Hummingbird.

The Ruby-Throated Hummingbird is one of the smallest birds in the world. It usually measures between three to three and a half inches and weighs only about two or three grams (that is 0.105822 ounces). Despite their small size, or perhaps because of it, they flap their wings (at least) between fifty and sixty times per second. Their hearts beat 1,260 times a minute and they breathe 250 times a minute. It is their amazing wing speed that allows them to not only hover, but navigate directly up, down and backwards. With all that movement, it is hard to imagine a hummingbird stationary. It seems we always think of them in some partially-blurred fashion. But they do sit down.

When they are stationary, you will be better able to appreciate their bright green backs. The green, which has a bluish or aqua tint in some lights, is in greatest contract against their white bellies. The female’s belly is often a more pure white than the males, who often have a smoky gray-white coloring to their breasts. The male also differs from the female because he has a dark, almost black patch across his throat that shines bright red in sunlight. Both sexes have a long, needle-like bill, almost perfectly straight. It’s length allows them to access the nectar in many of the tubular flowers that they love so much. Besides eating nectar they also eat insects. They also sometimes snack on the tree sap that is oozes from freshly made woodpecker holes.

Hummingbirds do not sing. But that does not mean that you will not hear one approach. As their name implies, the speed of their wings creates a hum, almost like that of a bee. They also do communicate with each other through a series of chatters, squeaks and often high-pitched chirps. These sounds are most often heard at my parents’ when they are competing for the feeder. They seem highly territorial and possessive, and often spend more time chasing each other away from the feeder than they actually send eating out of it.

It is the female hummingbird who is responsible for caring for the young. She builds a cup-shaped nest, consisting of plant down on the inside and lichen on the outside (for camouflage). Everything is held together using spider webs. It is in this nest that the female will lay two white and unmarked eggs, about half an inch in size. Then the female incubates the eggs for about two weeks. Once they hatch she proceeds to feed them on her own as well. Each female will have up to two broods a season. Females have been known to return to the same nest over multiple seasons, choosing to clean up and add to an existing nest, rather than starting over from scratch.

Toward the end of August, Ruby-Throated Hummingbirds begin to migrate. They spend their winters in to the southern states, Mexico and Central America, many flying over the Gulf of Mexico to reach their destination. Interestingly, the sexes migrate separately, the males heading south first and returning to the north first, usually around mid-May. So keep an eye out for the Ruby-Throated Hummingbird, they should be arriving right around now.