The closest stop sign is over a mile away and the first traffic light is 5+ miles down the road. A visit to the grocery store is almost 30 miles round trip. It's quiet here; just the sound of toads and coyotes at night. It seems very still, but when you look close there's always something happening. Read on about a few things we've noticed over the past few years.

Friday, September 2, 2011

I call him Mohawk

I put up a hummingbird feeder and quickly figured out the following:  Hummingbirds are territorial. A male will guard a food source and chase others away (with the exception of breeding females).  I named this little guy Mohawk due to the scruffy feathers on top of his head.  

He guards this feeder by sitting on top of the pole.  The feeder is located between two trees and he will perch in the trees and chase off any "intruder" that dares enter his domain by crossing back and forth between the trees as needed.  While there is lots of chirping and squawking, the fighting may crest into a few pulled out feathers but it mostly just ends up with Mohawk chasing off the intruders.  I've enjoyed watching 3 to 4 other birds trying to give him the slip and drink his nectar.  He'll chase one away and the others will fly straight to the feeder for a 5 second drink before he returns to chase them off.

Hummingbirds guard a territory of about a quarter acre. 
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