Hummingbirds lead perilous lives!

It’s easy to be charmed by the antics of these tiny birds, especially when they put on a show, and that’s what this one was doing in my back yard today. Let’s sit for a bit on the patio bench and watch.

Uh-oh! Watch out, Hummer. You’re not the only one that likes the sugar water. You’ve got competition!

Lots of competition!

August is not my favorite month because that’s when the yellow-jackets and wasps discover the back yard buffet, and they love sugar water. It doesn’t seem really fair to me. The hummers will soon begin their fall migration. They will head south…very far south, to their warm winter home somewhere in Central America. It’s a long and difficult journey from the south shore of Lake Erie over the Gulf of Mexico, and our tiny friends, the hummers, need plenty of nourishment to prepare for the rigors of migration.

Unfortunately, in the middle of August, hundreds of “bees” (yellow jackets, wasps, etc.) try to take over the sugar water feeders, but hummingbirds are feisty little critters, and I’ve watched them chase off the hungry hordes like this one eventually did today! Hummingbirds may be small, but they are not easily intimidated.

I can’t help feeling sorry for the hummingbirds at this time of year, but I also feel a little sorry for myself. After mixing up the sugar water and filling the feeders, a day or two later I have to spill out the water, and clean and refill the feeders that are clogged up with the bodies of bees! What a waste! I don’t like bees any more than the hummingbirds do, but I definitely enjoy watching the hummers.

That’s all for today. See you soon.
Trail Watcher