Our New Mexico Hummingbirds are now back in force…I have never lived in a place with such an abundance of these little buggers…I hear them from early in the morning (sun rises around 5:30 or so) until sundown around 8:30 at night. They sound like super high little tinkling bells, or maybe more like crickets. I can’t decide. And sometimes they chatter back and forth in these funny voices that remind me of what alien munchkins would probably sound like. If you are familiar with hummingbirds, you know what I mean.
I have 3 feeders that hold a quart of sugar water each, and I have to completely refill two of them about every other day. Since in all my adult life I never ever bought white sugar (and was pretty proud of the fact), I felt a strong impulse to explain my purchase to the checkout person in the grocery at when I first took on the role of hummingbird caretaker last summer. Twenty five or so pounds of sugar and a year later, I just don’t worry about it.
There are at least 15 hummers right now at the feeders, but they are really hard to count since they move so fast it makes my eyes spin. I imagine there are probably more like 25 or 30.
Hummingbirds are the Fred Astaires of the bird world – never a careless maneuver (well, excepting those that accidentally beak-dive into our living room window then soar away, probably embarrassed by their blunder) and even at rest their trim graceful bodies remind me of that infallible dance icon.
In the Family Way
This morning I poked my head out the back door and heard an unfamiliar buzzing sound. I was looking all over for some giant wasp or bee in the back yard and finally spotted a sexy little hummingbird male arcing back and forth above his beloved like a feathered pendulum. I’ve seen their mating dance before, but never accompanied by that interesting “tune.”
I figure one more hummingbird wife will soon be building a nest, care taking the little eggs and feeding her young. The males are for some reason exempt from this familial routine.
Somewhere in the pinon trees are their nests. I’ve never seen them, but I know they are there. Judging from the frenzy of feeding over the past few days, I expect the babies are hatching and demanding nutrition. Luckily, they don’t just grow up on sugar water. According to Frequently Asked Questions about Attracting Hummingbirds, Mama and Papa also provide tiny insects and spiders to their young.
A Rainbow of Hummers
We have a two varieties of hummers here currently – the lovely iridescent green “black-chinned hummingbird,” and the “broad-tailed hummingbird” with a brilliant scarlet chin. Long about August the tiny orange Rufous hummingbird shows up. They are all kind of rowdy, especially the boys, but the Rufous seem especially belligerent for their tiny size.
Or maybe they have to be more assertive considering their late arrival at the feeding trough.
Despite their incessant chatter, the almost daily demands to fill their feeders and a little bit of mess (bathroom breaks seem to take place right around the feeders) I love my hummers and spend more time than I should watching their antics.
What varieties of hummingbirds do you have in your area, and do you put out feeders?
