The more I focus on hummingbirds, the more interesting they become. I've seen hummingbirds in various places. Canada wouldn't be the first place I'd look for hummingbirds. But there I am, I've seen hummingbirds in Nova Scotia!
I've had a very strange encounter in Yucay, which is between Cuzco and Machu Picchu. I was standing in the park there, and a hummingbird approached me from the right, approaching a straight path parallel to me to within about two meters, stopped in place, turned its head toward me, turned it back, and continued flying along the same imaginary line. That was, of course, a completely surprising moment. It's a good thing besides a camera we still have a brain.
I have been able to observe hummingbirds most intensively in Ecuador. Hummingbirds could be seen at high altitudes and in forests, but it wasn't as easy to observe and photograph. Observation requires a certain artificiality, such as a café with feeding stations. The rapid movement of hummingbirds poses a problem for photography. For the aforementioned flight maneuver, the hummingbird uses its rapid wing beats. I saw someone with more than professional camera equipment. This camera had a minimum exposure time of 1/87,000th of a second. Yes, you can freeze the wing beats - my camera can't.
I've had a very strange encounter in Yucay, which is between Cuzco and Machu Picchu. I was standing in the park there, and a hummingbird approached me from the right, approaching a straight path parallel to me to within about two meters, stopped in place, turned its head toward me, turned it back, and continued flying along the same imaginary line. That was, of course, a completely surprising moment. It's a good thing besides a camera we still have a brain.
I have been able to observe hummingbirds most intensively in Ecuador. Hummingbirds could be seen at high altitudes and in forests, but it wasn't as easy to observe and photograph. Observation requires a certain artificiality, such as a café with feeding stations. The rapid movement of hummingbirds poses a problem for photography. For the aforementioned flight maneuver, the hummingbird uses its rapid wing beats. I saw someone with more than professional camera equipment. This camera had a minimum exposure time of 1/87,000th of a second. Yes, you can freeze the wing beats - my camera can't.
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| Feeder at about 1500 m altitude (Ecuador) |
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| The Highlander at about 4000 m altitude |
Hummingbirds (Trochilidae) are a family of small, nectar-feeding birds from the Americas. Wikipedia raves: "Hummingbirds have varied specialized characteristics to enable rapid, maneuverable flight: exceptional metabolic capacity, adaptations to high altitude, sensitive visual and communication abilities, and long-distance migration in some species." [1]
You can feed hummingbirds and should prepare a 25% solution of table sugar. Dark sugar is bad because it brings iron into the solution via the molasses residue, which can harm the small birds. Honey should also be avoided for other reasons. Interestingly, hummingbirds also feed on spiders and small insects—they meet their protein needs this way. [2]
You can feed hummingbirds and should prepare a 25% solution of table sugar. Dark sugar is bad because it brings iron into the solution via the molasses residue, which can harm the small birds. Honey should also be avoided for other reasons. Interestingly, hummingbirds also feed on spiders and small insects—they meet their protein needs this way. [2]
Isn't the weather in Nova Scotia too harsh? My neighbors think Newfoundland [3] and Nova Scotia are just below the North Pole, but both are farther south than Cologne. Newfoundland's north borders to Cologne's south in latitude. Nova Scotia would be at a comparable latitude in Europe to southern France or northern Italy. But hummingbirds defy all kinds of environmental conditions. In Caja Parque Nacional in Ecuador, I saw them at over 4,000 meters. In Nova Scotia, I saw them in Cape Breton Highlands National Park. But the photos are more of hummingbirds fed with sugar solution. Some were taken at a cafe near Pleasant Bay.
Wherever you are, at zoos or other occasions, take a look at these little wonders of nature.
Wherever you are, at zoos or other occasions, take a look at these little wonders of nature.
Links and Annotations:
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hummingbird
[2] https://cwf-fcf.org/en/resources/encyclopedias/fauna/birds/hummingbirds.html
[3] Has the news spread that I'm an Honorary Newfoundlander (Newfie) and I know it's pronounced: new-fin-LAND.
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[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hummingbird
[2] https://cwf-fcf.org/en/resources/encyclopedias/fauna/birds/hummingbirds.html
[3] Has the news spread that I'm an Honorary Newfoundlander (Newfie) and I know it's pronounced: new-fin-LAND.
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