The baby hummingbirds have been at it recently. They are fighting over the feeder pretty much non-stop now, preparing for migration. 6 more weeks and they’ll all be fat and gone. There’s one little plucky guy that just pain refuses to give any ground to the other birds. He just keeps hovering near the feeder and doesn’t go more than a foot away when he’s dive bombed. Below is a video I shot of him being bombed a few times in a row, just keeps coming back!
He’s a hatch year male, which means he’s just a baby that hatched out this year, probably in May or June. He’s got a few red gorget feathers sprouting. He’ll moult the rest and have a full ruby throat when he comes back next April.
The other hummingbird he keeps fighting with is another baby, also probably a boy. That smear all over the top of his head is pollen because he likes flowers more than the feeder.
He’s so young that he hasn’t quite figured out what to do with the ladies yet, so he’s still chasing off the females from the feeder also. The one patchy, tired looking female that stands up to him is probably his mom. Poor thing looks like she’s been put through the wringer. Raising 6 babies in 4 months will do that to you!
