Bramblings: Hummingbirds

By Becky Nelson
When the first male hummingbird came back some three weeks ago, I was far from ready for him. The little fella may have been an original or an offspring from the year before so knew where to come or he was attracted to the flowering plant on the sill of the window where I usually hang the hummingbird feeders. In any case, he came right up to the window as I was sitting in the recliner watching the news as if to say, “Hey, lady! Time to feed me!”

It is arrogant of us humans to think that animals and birds and all manner of creatures do not communicate with each other and with us. We are just too oblivious, too self-centered, too ignorant and arrogant to care or to seek to communicate with them, or even with ourselves. We don’t speak the language, and are awkward and too busy on most occasions to watch and listen.

I didn’t get the feeders out for about two weeks after my first sighting. I had to clean them, make some nectar and hang them, and it just didn’t fit into my schedule. I hadn’t seen the birds for a few days, and was afraid that I had missed my opportunity and they had moved on. My little friend had asked for food, and I had missed the opportunity. We had seen them in the apple orchard at the blossoms, but that is about an eighth of a mile from the house. I know neighbors feed the hummingbirds, and I wondered if they would rediscover our feeders. I was kind of sad that I had let the opportunity slip through my fingers, so I wasn’t expecting much when I finally did set the feeders on their hooks. Within minutes of hanging the feeders, one at the back of the house one in the front, a beautiful ruby throated male made his way to the front feeder and had his first meal. I hadn’t been too late.

Just to the left looking out the window where the front feeder hangs, I have a row of lilacs growing about thirty feet from the windows. Sometimes when they are blooming and the air is warm enough to open the window, you can smell their perfume waft into the house. This seems to be the hummingbirds’ favorite spot this year, as I have seen them sitting on a couple of long stems that have only a couple of leaves along the way, perfect for the tiny birds to see their surroundings and any threats to their territory. There is now a female that alternates visits to the feeders, and I imagine I have a pair.

Hummingbirds are fierce. They are extremely territorial, and it isn’t uncommon to see males battle it out at the feeder if they come at the same time. I have yet to see any terrible battles, but my niece said she had a dead bird below her feeder the other day, and they are known to battle to the death sometimes. As I sat in the same recliner the other evening, just as it was about to get dark, I saw one of the birds flying in a bizarre (to me) u-shaped pattern in front of the lilacs. I wondered if he was okay, and then I saw a female on the favorite perch. Assuming it might be a mating flight, I turned to the internet for my confirmation. I felt privileged to see such a sight, and was comforted knowing they loved their home here as much as I love mine. They have settled in for the season and have a nest nearby, and that makes me happy.

When they were working in the apple blossoms, I was happy to see them as it was too early for the bees who got a late start because of the cold and the rain. I read that they do indeed carry a tiny bit of pollen with them from blossom to blossom as a happenstance to their feeding, so I was hopeful that they helped pollinate the blossoms.

The hummingbirds are interesting creatures. They, like other birds, have individual patterns and adaptations to make their lives successful. That they rely on us for early feeding when the blossoms are scarce is not only a delight to me, but has a certain burden of responsibility to help them survive. I wish we humans were so kind and giving toward our fellow humans in their hour of need and felt the burden of responsibility for the well being of our fellow man and woman. Instead we act more like the rival males at the feeder, battling it out for our territory or our food or our rights or our place on the planet, sometimes to the death. Like most of us trying to communicate with the hummingbirds, we just don’t take the time to understand the cues and the messages or the pleas for attention that aren’t right up in our faces, and then sometimes we still battle over the concepts.

I think our species has a lot to learn.

Becky Nelson is co-owner of Beaver Pond Farm in Newport, New Hampshire. [email protected].