I place a nectar feeder in my backyard each spring and watch for hummingbirds. Two. In my dreams, hummingbirds visit my seed-filled feeder and guzzle sweet syrup.
Greig oversees Project FeederWatch, a November to April bird survey run by the Cornell Lab. Participants in this software may keep an eye on avian jerkiness. However, you get the gist.
Greig: "We could gauge the most ferocious birds." Rufous hummingbirds are the most aggressive for their size. She compared them to crows and blue jays.
Greig outlined their stand against capitulation. Hummingbirds graze on flowers that have only a little nectar. Greig: "They need to keep going back." "They have evolved to defend areas of food-rich flowers."
For hummingbirds, a nectar feeder is "like a huge, never-ending flower." They eliminate rivals because they are unaware that it is unending. Spare resources must be preserved at all costs.
Even if they won't settle down at my feeder, I still get excited when I see a hummingbird. The drones of nature, darting back and forth, hovering, then taking off.