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Scared of other birds? (1 Viewer)

KristieNat

Well-known member
I have a hummingbird window feeder up and just recently a Ruby-throated has started visiting it daily. However, he only stays for a few seconds at a time. The feeder is very close to my other bird feeders, so there are usually a few Chickadees, Finches, etc. flying around and perching. I was wondering if hummingbirds are afraid or skittish around other birds? Could this be deterring it from staying longer at the feeder?
 
A reflection of itself or the other birds?

It's strange because the day before yesterday, one came and sat for about a minute, drinking the nectar. But yesterday I just saw it quickly fly to it and then fly away. I know hummingbirds defend their feeding territory - I am thinking maybe this particular hummer has claimed the feeder and just checks it out every once and awhile? There are many hummingbird-friendly flowers in my yard so perhaps it just doesn't need the supplemental nectar, but still wants to keep tabs on the feeder. Also, I'm not watching the feeder 24/7 so it's possible it is drinking from it and I'm just not seeing it.
 
I saw a Ruby-Throat lunge at a Nuthatch which got too close, as the Nuthatch was on the side of a tree, and the Ruby-Throat was hovering nearby. (maybe a foot or so)

The Nuthatch did not accept the challenge.
 
LOL. That's actually saying a lot, given how aggressive and forward Nuthatches tend to be.

I didn't see the hummer at all yesterday, but today it came and drank for about a full minute at the window feeder. I guess it just depends on the day, and I should just enjoy them while they're here because they will be migrating south very soon.
 
I keep my hummer feeders slightly separated from the other bird feeders. They're still in the same general area though. I've been finding the mature male rubythroats a lot more skittish than the females (and possible juvies) are. The females seem to stay at the feeders for much longer than the mature males do.
 
It's funny you say that because I've only seen females come to the feeder, I haven't seen a male yet. I actually had the window open the other day and one came flying around my head, almost touching me. It was definitely checking me out, or maybe it was angry that I was near the feeder. In any case, it was pretty awesome. I'm not used to birds being that bold.
 
I've had that happen as well! I'm still trying to figure out if they're curious, or if they're trying to intimidate me away from the feeders. I have a window feeder right next to my front door, and another hanging maybe six feet away on the other side. I have a tendency to stand in the doorway with my camera, and I've had hummers dive in for a feed, stop short of the feeder, hover for a moment, then incrementally fly closer and closer and closer toward me. I have one photo in my gallery that's a closeup of one and it's not cropped much, that one was very close to me, and I think it was trying to drive me away so she could eat in peace! Hummers are awesome.
 
That's so funny, sounds like exactly what happened to me. I've read that males are the most territorial about their feeding areas, but obviously the females are, too, unless they were just curious about us. Whatever the case, it's a pretty awesome experience, although a little overwhelming given the loud noise their wings make paired with the quickness of their movements. I was also afraid it may flight into the house or something, ha. They are awesome indeed, and quite different from other birds. I've had a Chickadee get pretty close to me when I'm filling the feeders, but nothing like this. I was pleasantly surprised.
 
The smaller, the cheekier

I've never seen a hummingbird in my life and I doubt that I'll ever make into any hummingbird-country; but in the Mediterranean area there lives a species of butterfly - Charaxes jasius or Foxy Emperor, Europe's biggest butterfly - that will sometimes attack anything entering it's territory, even humans. The caterpillars mainly feed on the leaves of Arbutus unedo or Strawberry tree, which is a very nice evergreen shrub.

I've seen this wonderful butterfly once or twice in Italy. Fortunately I got away without being attacked, but the behaviour of the hummingbird described here doesn't surprise me at all. The smaller, the cheekier.

Ivan
 
I had hummingbirds feeding regularly at my mini-Hummzinger until a feeder I had put out ended up attracting hordes of English house sparrows.

I took the feeder in and replaced it with feeders unfriendly to HOSPs, but the hummers have never really come back, at least not the way they were before. I used to see them every day, several times a day. Now I'm lucky if I see one once a week. Yes, they were driven off by the HOSPs, and I hope some day they will get over it and come back. So, it's possible - but usually only with something aggressive, noisy, and swarming like the HOSP hordes.

Have you considered there may be a hawk in your area? Putting the feeder where there is some cover could help if that is the case.
 
Last week, two juvie Ruby-throated were chumming around, with little aggression towards one another, (relatively). A few times one or both would square off with a Downy woodpecker, with the Downy giving up ground. Despite having a camera at the ready, it happened too quick to catch.

Last fall, 2013, a Coopers's hawk took to staking out one of my nectar feeders.
Hummers abandoning that feeder altogether. Wound up moving it closer to the house as a result.
 
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Last fall, 2013, a Coopers's hawk took to staking out one of my nectar feeders.
Hummers abandoning that feeder altogether. Wound up moving it closer to the house as a result.

That's interesting, I had wondered if Cooper's and Sharp-shinned would go after hummingbirds. I know that those hawks are agile, but I thought maybe hummingbirds would out-maneuver them.
 
That's interesting, I had wondered if Cooper's and Sharp-shinned would go after hummingbirds. I know that those hawks are agile, but I thought maybe hummingbirds would out-maneuver them.

Hi Gretchen,
Was a curiosity for myself. I did not see the hawk make an attack. It perched on the lateral drop off the transformer in the backyard, immediately above the feeder. Happened two consecutive days.

Recall reading about one of the western species that habitually nest very close to a raptor, believe one of the buteos. In that case, the hummer symbiotically using the raptor as a static defense against still other birds that will predate on hummers nest, but wont come close to the raptor.
 
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