What I have learned from hummingbirds

"I saw a hummingbird yesterday.  Time to put out the feeder," my husband reminded me about mid-March.  I thought it was a tad early in the season, but it was worth a try to lure a few of those fascinating tiny creatures into the courtyard.

“They are so cute,” humans often remark.  But cute generally implies harmless as well, and these tiny birds can be very territorial. They flap their wings about 80 times per second, which would certainly build up an appetite. No wonder they chase away anyone or anything keeping them from their food source.

Life Lesson No. 1:  When resources are scarce, life forms become very self-centered.  Hummingbirds have to consume about half of their weight in food every day.  What humans see as an amusing game of hummingbird chase is a desperate attempt at hummingbird survival.  Have you ever observed the behavior of office personnel when future lay offs in the company are made public?  I’ll take my chances with the hummingbirds any day!

Most of the birds that frequent the feeder seem small and dull colored.  But they can choose to spread their wings and seem almost iridescent, like a soap bubble. One afternoon, I looked out the kitchen window, and there was Golden Boy.  The sunlight was behind him, and as he approached the feeder and spread his tail feathers, he appeared to be gilded.  I gasped and called to my husband to come quickly.  But alas, Golden Boy had already had his turn at the feeder and had flown away. 

 Life Lesson No. 2:  People may enjoy looking at you more if you are beautiful, but you don’t get any extra time at the feeder just because of your good looks.  Ordinary people of the world, rejoice!

And another lesson from the hummingbirds. Sometimes they arrive when I have just filled the feeder with a fresh mixture of boiled water and sugar.  At other times, they have to drain the feeder of the dregs of slightly fermented two-day old liquid.    

Life Lesson No. 3:  You never know about the quality of food you will experience when eating out.  Have you ever eaten at a cafeteria late in the evening?  Just saying.

I hope you enjoyed this brief introduction to hummingbirds and will feel inspired to hang out a feeder.  I'm looking forward to the hummingbird rush season in summertime and hope to take some original photos of our garden visitors.  Here's a great video about hummingbirds.  http://www.wildlifetheater.com/video1.html