We had an uptick in visits to our humming- bird feeders about three weeks ago, and this week, the battles for air superiority (not to mention perching and sipping rights) have become fierce. The young male rubythroat at left had just a touch of red on his throat. The males don't get the trademark red plumage until their second summer.
Although humming birds often appear on greeting cards in peaceful poses, ours are seemingly into non stop aerial combat. Here, the young male refuels for the next sortie.
Of course, a mature male is the alpha bird, but he has to spend a lot of energy chasing away the young pretenders. Here he raises his beak to ward off the youngster circling over head.
The bird books say that the males migrate to Mexico and central America first, followed by the females. Next month the sight of this red throat will be rare, but the battles will probably continue. The females are territorial, too.
Usually Norm waits until it's almost dark to venture out and refill the feeders with sugar water. We have three: one on the front porch, this one in the dining room window, and one in the back yard hanging from a shepherd's crook. Somehow, these guys keep an eye in all directions and try to defend them. One thing we have noticed is that when the hummers are in full competition, most other birds avoid our yard as well. No sparrows, wrens, goldfinches or even starlings are in evidence, except for a quick dip in the bird bath. We love watching these hummingbird antics at breakfast, lunch and supper. They are a reminder that fall is coming, even if it was 92 degrees today before a thundershower cooled everything off.
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