Hello all, with onset of cold weather and the monopolization of my hummingbird feeder I bought another to make sure at least another hummer got enough carbs to get through tonight's cold snap. Anyways, I was putting the feeder out, when I heard this loud humming (we have a sedum in the area that has seen lots of bee activity) assuming it was a bumblebee or something I cocked my head only to find a female hummingbird hovering at stomach level about six inches away from me, when I cocked my head she rose up to about chin level. It was at this point out of no where a second hummingbird appeared, rammed the first hummingbird and then proceeded to chase it out the yard. I could hear the impact of the attacker when it hit the first hummingbird (square in the chest). This all proceeded in front of me at no more than eight inches from my head. It was shocking, I mean I know hummingbirds are savage but this was literally off the charts... The attacked didn't just sort of halfhearted rammed its target, it did it at full speed (it sent the target hummingbird tumbling for a few seconds before it regained control).
You would think with the cool temperatures these guys couldn't waste the energy on this kind of aggression but that just goes to show you there's always room for hyper-territoriality... Jacob Newton Ottosen, Humboldt Co., IA --- Please contribute your sightings to our list; it is only as good as members make it! --- Birding channel recommendation for FRS/GMRS radio use: Primary selection; channel 5/0 , alternate selection; channel 6/0 --- This mailing list is sponsored by the Iowa Ornithologists' Union. Membership available on-line at http://www.iowabirds.org/iou/membership.asp. ----- You are currently subscribed to ia-bird as: [email protected]
