Hummingbirds

The first hummingbird arrived on Wednesday March 20th, the first day of spring. I hung two feeders, one on the east side of the house and one on the south side. At first, we had sporadic visitations by a pair of hummingbirds. This was helpful, since few flowers are in bloom due to the cold weather.

Then, early this morning, the battle for territory began in earnest. Two male hummingbirds repeatedly dive bombed each other over the feeder on the south side. For approximately ten minutes they struggled fiercely, until one was knocked over on it`s back on the deck and the other stepped on it`s wing. At that point I intervened. They both flew off, then came back for a hurried drink. The battle lost intensity, and at one point there was one hummingbird on each feeder, resting and drinking. Then another male hummingbird came on the scene. More aerobatics flying in increasing arcs over and above the feeder. Presently, they must have just worn themselves out. There are no birds at either feeder.

Check out a video of the Hummingbirds: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6EFvXGBcoMM