While I haven’t been seeing many Ruby-throated Hummingbirds this year at home, I did have a pair spend the summer at our cabin in Wisconsin. When we were there last time, it was clear that we now had a very noisy family of five hummingbirds. I had no idea they “chipped” so much. This juvenile male was particularly camera friendly.
The kids and parents spent their days zipping about and chasing each other from treetop to feeder to window feeder back to treetops. It was hard to pull myself away from the window they were so entertaining! These were their favorite resting spots.
I got a few cute movies of their antics. Watch the background for others having fun. Quality isn’t what I wanted, but that’s the danger of filming on my phone. Two things to remember for next time: Turn my phone horizontal and clean my windows!
Despite that, I hope you enjoy these movies:
How do I know the photo of the juvenile is a male? It’s difficult to tell a juvenile male from a female, but there are some tell-tale marks appearing later in summer. Like a female, the juvenile male may have a white throat, but later in summer it’s often streaked with black or green. Think “5 o’clock shadow”. A few red feathers may actually start showing up right before migration time.
For a more detailed description of identifying male, female and juvenile Ruby-throated Hummingbirds check out Operation Rubythroat.
Did you end up seeing hummingbirds in your yard this year?
Stephi, glad you had a chance to enjoy Ruby-throated Hummingbirds this summer. They have been a steady presence in my garden this year around the flowers and resting on tree branches, but couldn’t get good images of them.
I wish I had a better camera with me. They were posing so beautifully for me. Glad to hear you’ve had them on your garden this summer. Seems to be an off year for some.
Great videos!
Thanks! They really were fun to watch in person.