Dear Reader, I am pleased to announce the 2023 Hummingbird Wars are now open! This is a time of great excitement and entertainment for me and I look forward to it with great anticipation every year.

There has been quite a buildup this summer and it appears as though the conditions for the hummingbirds have been quite favorable this year because the number of hummingbirds at my feeders looks like it has hit an all-time high. Let the games commence!

Okay, I get it, you have no idea what I am talking about. I suppose that is reasonable and I suppose I should back up a little and explain myself. Right. I guess I’ll start at the beginning.

Every spring I keep my eyes peeled for signs that the ruby-throated hummingbirds have returned from their wintering grounds in Central America. The exact day of their return will differ from one year to the next, but it is always in the first half of May. I consulted my records and discovered that going back to 2015, the earliest recorded sighting was May 5 and the latest was May 14.

These individuals are generally birds that are returning to my yard from the previous year and my evidence for this assertion is the fact that many times I have seen hummingbird hovering exactly where my hummingbird feeders were hanging last year. They clearly know what they are looking for and I am quick to get the feeders out if they are not already in position. My particular feeders are made of glass (for easy cleaning) and I fill them with a 3-to-1 mixture of regular table sugar and boiling water.

This ensures good dissolving of the sugar and it also sterilizes the solution, which minimizes the growth of molds and other fungi.

During May, June and July I see adult males almost exclusively. Adult females make the occasional appearance, but the males seem oddly intolerant of their own mates. At my house I might have 1 to 3 males vying for “ownership” of the feeders, but that all changes in August when the fledgling hummingbirds make their first appearances. Then, all hell breaks loose and the fun really begins.

Hummingbird fledglings start off looking almost exactly like adult females. They have the same gorgeous green feathers on their heads and backs and these feathers glow with iridescent greens and yellows.

The color is the product of a refraction of light that occurs inside the structure of the feathers, and as a result, the feathers shine with an inner light. Adult males have a bib, or gorget, of red feathers that positively glow with a light that can seem impossibly bright. It is this patch of feathers on the males for which the species has been named the ruby-throated hummingbird (Archilochus colubris).

Of the 19 species of hummingbird that can be found in the United States, the ruby-throated is the only one found in the east.

Once the fledgling hummingbirds discover the free food to be had at the hummingbird feeder, word spreads quickly and the number of birds can grow. I was out on my deck last week and I actually saw seven hummingbirds all feeding quietly at the same feeder for about two minutes and then war was declared and the young birds went berserk. First they started chasing one another, then they turned on the adult males and finally they unleashed their awe-inspiring energy onto anything that moved, including the black-capped chickadees, northern cardinals, blue jays and even me.

Adult birds fly with purpose and they generally zip in, tank up on syrup and then zip out. The immature birds (and boy are they immature) have a completely different posture when flying. They arch their backs and fan out their tails to the point where they look sort of like green shrimps and they will sometimes fly very slowly while making the maximum amount of noise. Two youngsters may get into a standoff, hovering while facing one another and daring each other to make the next move. Then, a third bird will mount a sneak attack and come streaking in from nowhere to bust up the showdown.

Perhaps the most delightful aspect of these encounters is the noises that the young birds make. They make all sorts of little chipping and squeaking noises as the dive at one another and attempt to escape.

It really sounds like a bunch of human children playing “cowboys” and making “pew-pew” noises as they pretend to shoot one another. Combined with the sounds made by the young hummingbirds’ wings, I always imagine that the birds are playing “Star Wars” and Tie Fighters are chasing X-Wing fighters and trying to shoot them down.

When things really get roiled up, I am sometimes incorporated into the games by being used as an obstacle. One bird will attempt to escape another by making a high-speed pass by my head and then making a tight turn around me while temporarily out of another bird’s view. Other times solitary juveniles will just make a run at me for what seems like the pure fun of it. These sorts of barnstorming maneuvers can be startling, but they are completely harmless and I end up laughing as the mischievous rascals get closer and closer. They don’t seem satisfied until they brush me with a wingtip and it is pure joy for everyone involved.

So … I dare you to put yourself in close proximity to a hummingbird feeder and see if you become either an object of interest, or merely an obstacle in an all out hummingbird battle. The birds are simply having fun, like humans suiting up in armor and blasting each other with paint balls. There is no real aggression, nor is there any danger, but there is a boatload of fun to be had. Give it a try!

Bill Danielson has been a professional writer and nature photographer for 26 years. He has worked for the National Park Service, the US Forest Service, the Nature Conservancy and the Massachusetts State Parks and he currently teaches high school biology and physics. For more in formation visit his website at www.speakingofnature.com, or go to Speaking of Nature on Facebook.

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