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Joined: Sep 2001
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Carpal Tunnel
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OP
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 6,296 |
They're very interesting. One particularly interesting thing about them is they eat nearly all the time--at least the ones here on the farm do.
Now, with all that beating of wings and all that eating and all that heart pumping (ovet 1000 beats a minute...maybe even 1450 or so), how in Sam's hill do they make it down South in the winter? My Aunt Faye used to say they hitched a ride on the backs on geese, but I dunno...
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Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 6,511
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 6,511 |
I heard something about this on an NPR nature show a while back, but have forgotten, of course. I think they fatten up before the flight. I'll check to see if Cornell has anything on it. Edit: Here's some cool info from Cornell's Lab of O: http://birds.cornell.edu/BOW/RUTHUM/
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Joined: May 2004
Posts: 89
journeyman
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journeyman
Joined: May 2004
Posts: 89 |
The video Watching Hummingbirds Watch 1998 explains that hummingbirds have evolved feathers unique to their species, namely, their wing tips reverse and so provide stationary lift, thus saving energy.
Also...in more or less direct flights (such as in migrations) hummingbirds are the fastest birds in the world in relation to their body length( over 300 body lengths per second, I think.) This is too fast for the human eye to frame and so they often appear to us as bright green streaks against a big blue sky.
When migrating, hummingbirds stop enroute to rest and feed, figgering, I guess, that if the lowly Monarch butterflies can flutter a thousand miles or so, the fastest bird in the world can too.
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Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 2,154
Pooh-Bah
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Pooh-Bah
Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 2,154 |
Being so small you'd think they'd be timid but in fact the ones around my parents place were scrappy and quarrelsome with each other and completely unafraid of us or the dogs. One even drank out of the feeder in my hand as I was trying to hang it up.
Years ago my mom saw the neighbour's cat acting odd and then saw a stick coming out of its mouth. She went to help thinking that it had a twig caught in its teeth or throat or something. When she pried its mouth open a hummingbird flew out. What she had seen was the beak.
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Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 2,891
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 2,891 |
I'm with you Zed. The hummingbirds around my parents summer cottage aren't timid little souls at all. It's funny because they'll immediately pop up out of nowhere when we show up and fill the feeder.
If we went regularly, I'd say they're following our pattern, but we don't.
It's funny about them being attracted to the red feeder since there are very few red flowers up north. Well, there are none really, only one variety of dark orange flower.
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Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 6,296
Carpal Tunnel
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OP
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 6,296 |
We have three feeders off the back porch, and my dad keeps them filled throughout the day, at least three fillings per day during hummingbird season. One feeder is clear, one is nearly sapphire, and the third is strawberry. It's the strawberry feeder that causes all the problems and fights. One large hummingbird that my dad refers to as 'Boss Hog' dominates the strawberry, sits atop its supporting rod, and fights off any challengers. He sits there all day long and only has to protect his berry when the other two feeders are ready for refilling.
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Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 6,296
Carpal Tunnel
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OP
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 6,296 |
Oh, and, AnnaS, thanks very much for the link. I just printed it out.
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Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 6,511
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 6,511 |
 The whole site is worth a browse, when you have time.
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Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 7,210
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 7,210 |
at least three fillings per day
just how many hummingbirds are we talking here?
formerly known as etaoin...
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Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 2,891
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 2,891 |
Maybe they were tiny feeders.
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