Hummingbirds Fight Yellow Jacket Hornets

Video: Hummingbirds Fight Yellow Jacket Hornets

Ruby Throated Hummingbirds versus Yellow Jacket hornets at the nectar feeder. Besides fighting each other the hummingbirds have to contend with a few hornets who have claimed the nectar feeder and are vigorously - and quite successfully - defending it. When you watch the actions of the hornets it certainly gives the impression of intelligence and strategy. Sad to say the hummingbirds - which are birds with attitude after all - have been dominated by Bumblebees and Butterflies in the past so the hornets running them off is not too surprising. But despite all the battle they manage to get a drink of nectar in now and then. See also Hummingbird versus bee:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G83qcxNRWww

Hummingbird versus butterfly:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UXx0v7lMG40

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Video: Hummingbirds Fight Yellow Jacket Hornets

Hummingbirds Hover More Efficiently Than Helicopters !

Video: Hummingbird Versus Helicopter?

Hummingbird Helicopter! I was having some fun filming Ruby Throated Hummingbirds in slow motion from above - and it turns out a Hummingbird sounds much like a helicopter when filmed in slow motion. You can hear it before you see it - Crank up the volume! Ruby Throated Hummingbird at 1/8 normal speed - 240 FPS and the wings are still a blur, but rather than a circular blur like a helicopter you can see the range of their horizontal motion is much less as they flap in sort of a figure 8 pattern with more of a vertical component than a helicopter. It turns out studies earlier this year by Stanford engineers have found that hummingbirds  actually have a more efficient a design than the best helicopter. To hear a hummingbird from above in normal speed check out:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0vgRYTPV9qU

Check out these stories on the quantitative analysis of hummingbird wings that show they generate lift more efficiently than the best micro-helicopter blades. - and Hummingbirds vs. Drone Helicopters: Who Wins?

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Video: Hummingbird Versus Helicopter?

Video: Hummingbird Wing Sounds - Normal Speed.

Video: Hummingbird Wing Sounds - Normal Speed.

Hummingbird Wing Sounds

Video: Hummingbird Wing Sounds

Continuing on the hummingbird theme as the little birds will soon be gone until next year this is a recording of loud Ruby Throated Hummingbird wing sounds that provide the characteristic "humming" of the hummingbirds. This very close and unique perspective from above gives a great view of the wings and the very loud humming sound that results from wings beating from 50 to perhaps 200 beats per second. You can also see the ripples on the nectar from the wind generated by the rapid beat of the tiny wings.

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Video: Hummingbird Wing Sounds

High Class Hummingbird Drinks From Wine Glass

Video: High Class Hummingbird Drinks From Wine Glass

This Ruby Throated Hummingbird knows how to enjoy life  high in the Great Smoky Mountains and prefers to drink his nectar from a tiny wine glass while socializing on the deck. Crank up the volume and put on a large screen and enjoy the view! It was a challenge to get the bird in sharp focus and the forest and mountains in the background, but it came out nice. The hummers will soon be heading south for the winter - they will be missed!

No alcohol was served to the hummingbird.

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Video: High Class Hummingbird Drinks From Wine Glass

Ruby Throated Hummingbird Preening

Video: Ruby Throated Hummingbird Preening

Female Ruby Throated Hummingbird chilling out and preening on her favorite perch overlooking a source of nectar. She may have a nest nearby - this is some rare quality down time between fighting with other hummingbirds over nectar sources.

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Video: Ruby Throated Hummingbird Preening

Hummingbird Versus BumbleBee

                                                    Video: Ruby Throated Hummingbird Competes With BumbleBee

Ruby Throated Hummingbird Competes With BumbleBee

Ruby Throated Hummingbirds continue their battle with insects over the sweet nectar in the feeder. After getting chased off by a Swallowtail Butterfly in:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UXx0v7lMG40
These Hummers now have a rather gluttonous BumbleBee to deal with. The Bee has quite poor table manners, where the Hummers could grab a quick drink while the ants, small bees and butterflies were also drinking - the stout BumbleBee simply sticks it's entire bulbous head into the entrance - blocking others from sharing. The Hummer is clearly aggrivated and snaps and scolds at the Bee - but does not dispatch it.

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See a Baby Hummingbird's Heartbeat

Video: See a Baby Hummingbirds Beating Heart!

Ruby Throated Hummingbird mother feeding baby allows us to see its beating heart.

You can not count as fast as this precious little Ruby-Throated Hummingbird fledgling's heart beats in 40 seconds of video. Watch the zoomed-in PIP of the birds heart area in full 1080 HD. Hummingbirds have the fastest heart rates of all birds. We rescued a prematurely fledged baby hummingbird that crashed and exhausted itself - more on that in later video blogs - but here it is re-united with its mother and in assuming the out of the nest feeding position so the mother can get food into its beak, the bird allows us to see its tiny heart beating incredibly fast under its pink breast flesh. The hummingbirds has one of the biggest hearts in proportion to its body in the animal world, but it is still smaller than a green pea!
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Peak Hummingbird Season - Up Close and Loud

Video: Hummingbird In Evergreen

Hummingbird In Evergreen

Crank up the volume! Close up video and audio of a female Ruby Throated Hummingbird at an isolated feeder above evergreen trees. The sun was just right to bring out the iridescent green feathers. It is interesting to see how the hummingbirds interact with small insects at this scale. You will also hear some loud calls of nearby Cardinals.

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Ruby-Throated Hummingbird Totally Enjoying a Summer Shower

Video: Ruby-Throated Hummingbird enjoying the rain

Ruby-Throated Hummingbird in the rain

This male Ruby-Throated Hummingbird is having too much fun in the rain! The more I observe hummingbirds away from the feeder the more I appreciate their personalities and natural behavior. The nectar feeder is just a very small part of their daily activities and food.

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Cute Hummingbird in Hemlock Tree

Video: Hummingbird Relaxing and Being Mellow

Cute Ruby Throat-ed Hummingbird in western North Carolina

It's rare to see a Ruby Throated Hummingbird relaxing and looking cute. But Hummers can be cute - if they sit still long enough to see them! This female is relaxing and having a bit of fun in her favorite Hemlock Tree.

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