Relax, I'm only talking about the hummingbird, an intrepid traveller who breeds and winters predominately in Mexico and Central America, and without a care about immigration policies, stealthily invade vast swatches of the US during the warmer month.
Let me first say, I'm not a birdwatcher, I don't have birds as pets, and generally don't have strong feelings about them one way or another. I don't dislike birds in general, I appreciate their qualities of bug eradicators (especially as I limit toxic chemicals to the best of my ability), and beauty.
That said, when I moved down to Southside Virginia from Connecticut, I became more and more aware of their presence. It was fascinating to see these little critters hovering around flowering foliage, zipping to and fro. My curiosity piqued, I started to read up on these visitors.
My guys are predominately the ruby-throated variety, so I can only speak about what I've seen, behaviorwise.
I'm by no means an expert, so this is from the perspective of a layman, not an orinphile(?) but I am reasonably confident about the facts and advice presented. All pictures are my own, except for the maps
MIGRATION
Most hummingbirds of the U.S. and Canada migrate south in fall to spend the winter in northern Mexico or Central America. This is an astonishing range for an animal who has the fastest metabolism of any animal short of insects.
BREEDING/AREA DISTRIBUTION UPDATE: There seems to be controversy as to the validity of this map. Go to bottom of diary to use the Googlemaps application for a better view:
SIGHTINGS
NOMS
They spend an average of 10–15% of their time feeding and 75–80% sitting and digesting. Nectar is a poor source of nutrients, so hummingbirds meet their needs for protein, amino acids, vitamins, minerals, etc. by preying on insects and spiders. That means a good batch of these eating machines can put a serious dent in nuisance insect populations (flies, mosquitos, gnats), this is a win-win situation for all.
The cheapest and healthiest nectar is one you make at home. Use 1 part white sugar to 4 parts of clean water (I use distilled, due to questionable water quality here). Natural (raw, turbinado) sugars retain trace elements such as iron which the birds have problems metabolizing. Iron rare in hummingbird diets, their bodies hoard it, and even a modest excess of iron can poison them.
FEEDERS
Boiling and then cooling this mixture before use has been recommended to help deter the growth of bacteria and yeasts. The prepackaged stuff they sell in stores usually have an added red dye which at best, doesn't help attract them, at worst, introduces a useless substance and, which some say can cause damage to their ultra fast metabolism.
It is also essential to regularly clean the feeders. The nectar is an ideal breeding ground for various fungus and bacteria, so I make it a point to give the feeders a good soap and water cleaning every couple of days (don't forget to rinse well).
Though there are many styles of feeders with varying price ranges, I opt for the cheapo plastic style, as long as they have a perch for the bird to rest and eat without having to expend precious energy hovering. They spend an average of 10–15% of their time feeding and 75–80% sitting and digesting.
BEHAVIOR AND HABITS
Through personal observation, these buzzbombs are territorial about their feeders - apparently they have excellent memories and will return to the same area year after year.
They will chatter madly and chase off any interlopers from their "favorite" feeding spot. I'd suggest that you place multiple feeders a fair distance away from each other, like around the corner of the house, so there's no direct line of sight between the feeders. They will also work in pairs, male and female, one guarding the spot, while the other gets their fill.
Exception to the rule, but I've seen couplets work together guarding and eating "their" feeder and only when they've gotten their fill will they go and roost, allowing non affiliated birds access.
CONCLUSION
They can provide endless entertainment for the pooties, and once acclimated to human presence, are remarkably bold, to the point of actually being curious as to what you're doing. Last year I had one fella who used to watch me doing dishes in the kitchen. Even though there was no feeder nearby, he'd hover a foot or so away from the window, staring in at me. They'll also sweep through the air close enough to feel the breeze from their wings.
I've fallen in love with these precocious critters, from the buzz of their wings, to their remarkable arial acrobatics, their little tiffs (almost like cats wrestling) madly chattering and chasing. And of course, their being a natural bug eradicator and beauty.
I know I left out many other areas, such as the varieties, identification, plants that attract hummingbirds, mating habits, types of nests, etc.. I'm sorry, but there's many more sites with real experts out there that can fill these gaps:
http://en.wikipedia.org/...
hummingbirds.net
Hummingbird World
The Hummingbird Society
UPDATE: Please feel free to share/correct any information here, especially if you have pictures. I do the best I can with a little 7mp point and shoot Nikon digital
And a bonus pic:
UPDATE X 2 World of Hummingbirds Has a Googlemaps application that has a more concise distribution of the different species here: googlemap of hummingbird distribution