<html><head><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"></head><body dir="auto">Nests (of any bird) are not bedrooms, but nurseries. When male and female birds look similar, males often incubate eggs and tend to young, but when males are brighter than females, they rarely do. The males of most species do provide some assistance in providing for the nestlings and sometimes even the fledglings, but not hummingbirds. No adult male hummingbird would ever sleep in a nest. And once the young (with eggs the size of jellybeans, by the way) have left the nest, the female abandons the nest, too. The male hummingbird you watched was defending its territory, not its family. It is next to impossible that it would recognize its own young, and would have no interest in his baby mamma. He might, however, defend the feeders in his territory. <div><br></div><div>I could go on about this for many, many pages. </div><div><br></div><div>—dawn<br><br><div dir="ltr">Sent from my iPad</div><div dir="ltr"><br><blockquote type="cite">On Jul 5, 2024, at 3:54 PM, Randall Kidder via fuusmchat <fuusmchat@fuusm.org> wrote:<br><br></blockquote></div><blockquote type="cite"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="auto"><div dir="auto">Oh. Thanks for clarifying. I got the impression from his behaviour that, although hummingbirds don't wed for life like swans, geese & other birds: the ♀️ and ♂️ hummerssort of had a "common law" living arrangement for the season, then when the kids were grown, he separated & went on to get a new main squeeze next time around. It seemed to be so because he hung around & seemed to protect the "family" and chase other birds. I don't know if he slept in the nest or just took it as a day job - as if some bird judge ordered him to pay child support til the kids were grown. He <i>was </i>pretty cute when he'd sit on the porch railing, like "daring" other birds to cross into his territory.</div><div dir="auto">BTW, this was around 35 years ago. There was a big picture window overlooking the porch so it was easy to see him and the hanging fuschia from the living room. We also had a few hummingbird feeders - you know - with that red sugar water.</div><div dir="auto"><br></div><div dir="auto"><br></div><div data-smartmail="gmail_signature" dir="auto">Randall Kidder</div><br><div class="gmail_quote" dir="auto"><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_attr">On Fri, Jul 5, 2024, 3:35 PM Dawn Hewitt via fuusmchat <<a href="mailto:fuusmchat@fuusm.org">fuusmchat@fuusm.org</a>> wrote:<br></div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex"><div dir="auto">Not quite accurate, Randall. Male and female hummingbirds do not form pair bonds at all. The male has two jobs, reproductionwise: impress the female, and mate with her. Then he’s outta there. He may have several mates living in the territory he defends, but he provides no help in nest building, feeding her while she’s incubating, or providing for the nestlings or fledglings. Male hummingbirds are 100% deadbeat dads! But, boy, are they handsome!!<div><br></div><div>—dawn<br><br><div dir="ltr">Sent from my iPad</div><div dir="ltr"><br><blockquote type="cite">On Jul 4, 2024, at 9:05 PM, Randall Kidder via fuusmchat <<a href="mailto:fuusmchat@fuusm.org" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer">fuusmchat@fuusm.org</a>> wrote:<br><br></blockquote></div><blockquote type="cite"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="auto"><div>It was fun, and really interesting to watch the babies grow. This was unfortunately back inna day, before cell phones & the convenience of photos & video, & I didn't even have a camera. 😖</div><div dir="auto">Unlike geese, swans or pigeons which mate for life, hummers get new partners every season; but that male was sooo protective, chasing after birds far bigger than him. Serious business to him I'm sure, but from my perspective, it was kinda cute & funny. And he always won, at least the times I observed it. I think maybe it was mostly his speed: like aerial combat between a Messerschmitt vs a B-17 Flying Fortress. </div><div dir="auto">Bird combat 😆</div><div><br></div><div data-smartmail="gmail_signature">Randall Kidder</div></div><br><div class="gmail_quote"><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_attr">On Thu, Jul 4, 2024, 4:48 PM Chris Hoke via fuusmchat <<a href="mailto:fuusmchat@fuusm.org" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer">fuusmchat@fuusm.org</a>> wrote:<br></div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">
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Wow, I am jealous, Randall! I would LOVE to see a hummingbird nest with eggs or babies.</div>
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Chris</div>
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<div id="m_2915767956999701056m_5877863172648806358divRplyFwdMsg" dir="ltr"><font face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size:11pt" color="#000000"><b>From:</b> fuusmchat <<a href="mailto:fuusmchat-bounces@fuusm.org" rel="noreferrer noreferrer" target="_blank">fuusmchat-bounces@fuusm.org</a>> on behalf of Martha McGovern via fuusmchat <<a href="mailto:fuusmchat@fuusm.org" rel="noreferrer noreferrer" target="_blank">fuusmchat@fuusm.org</a>><br>
<b>Sent:</b> Thursday, July 4, 2024 10:37 AM<br>
<b>To:</b> All topics, all people,anytime for FUUSM members and friends. <<a href="mailto:fuusmchat@fuusm.org" rel="noreferrer noreferrer" target="_blank">fuusmchat@fuusm.org</a>><br>
<b>Cc:</b> Martha McGovern <<a href="mailto:marthamcg@suddenlink.net" rel="noreferrer noreferrer" target="_blank">marthamcg@suddenlink.net</a>><br>
<b>Subject:</b> Re: [Fuusmchat] Hummingbirds</font>
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<p>Interesting descriptions, especially of the nest and tiny eggs, Randy. Thanks for sharing. My aunt and uncle lived in Sedona, Arizona and had an active hummingbird feeder on their patio. It was a delight to watch.</p>
<p>Martha</p>
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<p>Sent from <a href="https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=550986" rel="noreferrer noreferrer" target="_blank">
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<p style="border:none;padding:0in"><b>From: </b><a href="mailto:fuusmchat@fuusm.org" rel="noreferrer noreferrer" target="_blank">Randall Kidder via fuusmchat</a><br>
<b>Sent: </b>Tuesday, July 2, 2024 11:55 PM<br>
<b>To: </b><a href="mailto:fuusmchat@fuusm.org" rel="noreferrer noreferrer" target="_blank">All topics, all people, anytime for FUUSM members and friends.</a><br>
<b>Cc: </b><a href="mailto:randallkidder88@gmail.com" rel="noreferrer noreferrer" target="_blank">Randall Kidder</a><br>
<b>Subject: </b>Re: [Fuusmchat] Hummingbirds</p>
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<p>I remember one place I lived we had fuschias (& hummingbird feeders) hanging on the porch. One year a hummer made a nest in one of the hanging baskets. !! Occasionally I would climb a ladder to check on the eggs, like about the size
of my little fingernail. They hatched. So tiny! And the alpha male would often <b>
<i>sit </i></b>on the porch railing & "stand guard" and actually fly off & harass other birds that came near. It's the only time I ever saw one sit. Kinda funny & cute (sort of a David & Goliath thing).</p>
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<p>Once visited my aunt in Arizona. They had hummingbird feeders on the back porch in Great Sand Dunes Nat'l Park (her husband was a park ranger, he specialized in ornithology - even wrote pamphlets & booklets for the Park Service). The
air would sometimes be literally buzzing dronelike with over half a dozen different species of hummers flying around. It was so cool seeing so many different kinds. </p>
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<p>Randall Kidder</p>
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<p>On Tue, Jul 2, 2024, 12:10 PM Chris Hoke via fuusmchat <<a href="mailto:fuusmchat@fuusm.org" rel="noreferrer noreferrer" target="_blank">fuusmchat@fuusm.org</a>> wrote:</p>
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<p><span style="font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif;color:black">Hi Dawn:</span></p>
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<p><span style="font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif;color:black">Last night, Sunday, I was out on the deck from about 8:30 - 9:30 pm. The hummers were busy at the feeder. I saw four of them fussing around and finally settled on the feeder together.
They came and went. At one time when there were four of them at the feeder, I saw two more flying about. So, we have at least 6 hummers here. No doubt many more.</span></p>
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<p><span style="font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif;color:black">So you need to report to Julie Z. That all your hummers are here in Tyler Co. WV! </span></p>
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<p><span style="font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif;color:black">They must like my "cooking"!</span></p>
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<p><span style="font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif;color:black">Chris</span></p>
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