More hummingbird mayhem

11 years ago

Well, I put up a second feeder on the other side of the house, and I thought things were going well. The hummingbirds found the new feeder and they were actually more willing to share that one - by share I mean having two birds sit at the feeder at the same time. It's a little different shape.

So things were going swimmingly for a while, then - DUN, DUN DUN!!!

Poor murdered, headless bird torso on the deck near the original feeder this morning. Gah!

But I am not giving up! Since the new feeder holds more nectar, and the shape seems to promote sharing (maybe they can't see the other feeding birds as well, so out of sight out of mind), and I haven't noticed fighting near that one, I am going to buy another one of those, and retire the original, problematic one.

The search for a solution continues!

Comments (15)

triciae
11 years ago
Why do the hummers decapitate each other on a feeder but not on fushia, bee balm, or salvia and such??

/tricia
Lars
11 years ago
I've not had any hummingbird murders at my feeders, but I took them down for the summer, since they have way more than enough flowers to feed from now. Bernard said he was going to put one of the feeders back in the apple tree, but so far he has hung orchid plants from the hooks that used to hold the feeders. I may need to get some more hooks or else take some down from the kitchen rack above the peninsula. I got tired of cleaning the refilling the feeders, but if Bernard wants to do that while he is here, that is fine with me. He's planting a new banana tree today - one that will actually make bananas, unlike the bogus trees I got before. Those trees haven't even made flowers yet, but Kevin likes them anyway.

Lars
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dedtired
11 years ago
Wow, you have a "murder" of hummingbirds rather than crows. I've seen mine dive bomb each other, but no fights to the finish. Good luck.
doucanoe
11 years ago
Are yo sure it's the hummers that are killing each other and not maybe another bird or animal getting them?

I have seen our hummingbirds chase each other with a vengeance to defend their feeder, but I have never found a dead one much less a decpitated one! Yikes!

That would devastate me!

Linda
Gina_W
Original Author
11 years ago
Linda, I've seen them go at it many times now, and the one that really got me was I heard a small THUD! and looked, and two of the teeny warriors were WRESTLING on the edge of my deck before flying off!

Two times I had stunned birds on the deck - recovering from a blow before they came back to their senses and flew off. They peck each other in the head with their epee-like beaks.

I don't know what happened to the victim's head. I looked all over the deck, in the planters, looking for it!

If changing out the original feeder doesn't help I'm not sure what I'll do.

On one hand, I'm feeding half the hummingbirds in the county. On the other hand, they kill each other!

They do have plenty to eat in my garden as well - lots of shrubs like the salvias are still blooming happily. Lots of bees, butterflies, lizards. Foxes, hawks, crows, California Brush Jays, birds I don't know, owls... the only ones that murder each other are the hummers! (That I know of.)

I do like having all the birds around. I yell at the hawk to shut up when it screeches outside my bedroom window at sun-up. The crows chase the hawk. The hawk screeches at the crows. The Jays are beautiful and noisy. Some cute fat birds sit on the deck and sing and poop. It's nice having all that in the city.

I'm torn.

Hummingbird Behavior
dcarch7 d c f l a s h 7 @ y a h o o . c o m
11 years ago
You will enjoy this.

dcarch

Here is a link that might be useful: Humming birds
jessyf
11 years ago
Note to self: watch out for anything served at Gina's house called 'chicken kabobs'....uh oh.
kathleenca
11 years ago
JESSY!
wizardnm
11 years ago
Maybe Hummingbird Cake for dessert....
jessyf
11 years ago
OMG GINA.....NOOOOOO.....WTF is WFD!!! Those poor hummers! (note empty bird feeder top left corner...and five hummingbird sized pieces on the kabob)

See? I told you to watch out for chicken kabobs....

Umm...well.....yes that does look delicious...hey Mr. Gina, want my 'chicken' kabob? I'd rather have the beef. Mr. Gina is in the middle.

Om nom nom - good dinner. I want the chimichurri recipe, please. Quinoa salad was a keeper, and Gina also served a salad with strawberries, balsamic vinegar/EVOO and mozzarella. And a killer butternut chipotle squash soup! Dessert was assorted ice creams. Thanks for hosting, Gina!

We even got to see a quick hummingbird duel...poor things.
centralcacyclist
11 years ago
Yum!

Likely there isn't much meat on a hummer so I suspect they were all safe. :)

Fab pics!

E
wizardnm
11 years ago
What a hoot! Dinner sounds good and you were entertained by hummers...

Nice pics!
lindac
11 years ago
Looks like a fun time with friends and a good meal to boot. Hummers in chimichurri hmm?
ann_t
11 years ago
Nice to see you both again. And Mr. Gina too.

~Ann
Gina_W
Original Author
11 years ago
A fun evening! I'm so happy the weather was mild, so we sat outside all evening, and with a nice fullish moon too. Meat on a hummingbird? Nope - having picked up several now, they weigh less than a tissue!