Ruby-Throated Hummingbird
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
By: Pat Coate
The backyard feeder and garden has been quite busy over the last couple of weeks. This ruby-throated hummingbird was one of several that visited our bee balm and butterfly bush. This is the only species of hummingbird known to breed in the eastern United States.
When a chickadee had the audacity to land in the bee balm, a hummingbird aggressively chased it away. Hummingbirds, weighing only about one-tenth of an ounce, are extremely quick with a remarkable ability to change direction seemingly instantaneously. Their wings beat about 53 times per second.
I believe the hummingbird shown above is an immature female based on the streaking on the throat and a lack of red on the throat. Female hummingbirds raise the brood on their own as the male moves on after mating.
(Still working on the shore bird photos, hope to have them next week.)
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