Tiny Him
A beautiful little flurry,
whipped past my window today.
Always in a hurry,
a loner I’d say.
A whirling dervish, a pollinating vector.
Observe, but leave Tiny Him to his nectar.
-p.o.martig
The Story
My very first experience with a hummingbird came when I was looking out the window at my garden one glorious summer day. There, twirling about, soaring up and soaring down at incredible speeds, forwards and backwards, was the smallest bird in the world; the hummingbird. Tiny Him, as I affectionately call any one of them I see, soon became my home entertainment of choice. I would race to the window or run outside when I saw him. He would disappear so quickly, I could never get close enough to identify which species he was. Half the time I thought I was seeing a giant dragonfly or nano rocket. That’s when the decision to buy a feeder was made. I wanted the outside placement to be be close to my living room window so I could see Tiny Him feed and not be intrusive.
Hummingbirds are very territorial of the flowers on the feeder and will attack their piers for a spot on the stand. They also have been observed chasing birds as large as hawks away from their food source! Most hummingbirds weigh less than an ounce but because of their crazy metabolism, require drinking nectar every ten minutes and consuming 10 calories per day!
I fear I may be spoiling my Tiny Hims from finding nectar in the flowers and not pollinating like nature requires, but I have been assured otherwise. Hummingbirds are quite adaptable and when food supplies and temperatures get too low; they head out of town migrating as far as Mexico or Central America for their winter sojourn.
There are six predominant species of hummingbird found in Washington state,: the Anna’s , the Calliope , the Rufous , the Black-chinned , the Broad-tailed and the Costa’s. The only hummingbird in Washington state known to stay all year long and not migrate, is the Anna’s Hummingbird. To conserve energy when food is scare, the hummingbird can hibernate in a topor state where his metabolism slows down to 1/15 its normal rate. They also go into a tobor when sleeping and appear to be dead or even hang upside down. Some Tiny Hims don’t wake up at all because of their weak and fragile metabolic fluctuations.
Tiny Him of the Martig’s feeding trough is believed to be a Calliope, the smallest breeding bird in America. They are native to Washington and can be seen March to August nesting in the mountains and surrounding lowlands. The Calliope hummingbird generally flies south or east for its winter migration. As of today, 11/05/2014, my Tiny Hims have defied the norm.
Me thinks I am feeding them too much and since the migration trip is so exhausting; with their little hearts beating over 1000 beats a minute, their hoovering and wing flapping approximately 50 to 200 times a second, speeds exceeding 34 mph backwards and upside down, weighing in at less than an ounce, and migration distance up to 2000 miles; they would much rather stay with the Martig’s and their wonderful handcrafted nectar, spacious evergreens and mild winters.
The Awesome Hummingbird
More Facts You Have to Read to Believe
1. Hummingbirds are so uniquely bantam and their bones so hollow and delicate that an evolutionary history through fossilization is virtually nonexistent. Hence, they have been labeled a “New-World” species thought to have their origins in South America.
2. The name hummingbird came about from the humming sound emulating from their wings which flap at such high frequencies they become audible to humans.
3. Hummingbirds have the highest metabolism of any homothermic (a thermoregulation that maintains a stable internal body temp regardless of external influence) animal.
4. The hummingbirds feet are used for perching only; they do not hop or walk. They measure 7.5-13 cm in range and weigh less than an ounce.
5. Hummingbirds have a specialized beak that is long and tapered so as to secure nectar from the center of long, tubular flowers.
6. Hummingbirds can fly right, left, up, down and yes, upside down.
7. A Hummingbird hovers by flapping its wings in a figure 8 motion.
8. Hummingbirds require copious amounts of food ( nectar, tree sap, insects and pollen) because of their high metabolism rate.
9. Hummingbirds have a long tongue which they use constantly to lick their food at an approximate rate of up to 13 licks per second.
10. Hummingbirds are found only in the Western Hemisphere, from southeastern Alaska to southern Chile.
11. There are more than 300 species of hummingbirds of which only 12 take residence in North America and migrate to warmer, more tropical climates in the winter.
12. Hummingbirds lay between 1-3 eggs. Gestation is 13-22 days.
13. Hummingbird young start flying in about 18-30 days.
14. Hummingbirds can see wave lengths into the near-ultraviolet range, reducing “nectar robbing” by marauding insects.
15. Many plants pollinated by the hummingbird produce flowers in shades of red, orange and bright pink. Hummingbirds, however, are not particular about the color of a flower.
16. A Hummingbird’s brain is 4.2% of its body weight making it the largest brain proportional to weight in the bird kingdom.
Hummingbirds have been listed as an endangered species because of world climate change, and the loss and destruction of its habitat; but with more and more people getting feeders and planting gardens rich in nectar producing flowers, the Tiny Him’s of the world will continue to grace our earth and oh, what a delight they are!
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