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Hummingbirds

High Hummingbird Mortality Rate

Nature is all about survival in the animal kingdom.  Hummingbirds are no different.  It may surprise you to know that a high number of young hummingbird hatchlings don’t survive.  Studies that have been done on fledgling success, those hummingbirds that make it from hatching to full feathering, range from 17% to 59% of the number of eggs which had been laid.

There are a number of explanations for the high rate of hummingbird mortality.  The number one explanation is the various predators of the hummingbird.  A hummingbird mother will try fiercely to defend her eggs or young, but even so it is quite often with out success.

Other explainations also include the following: bad weather such as extreme cold or heat, heavy rains or even high winds.  Accidents also help to account for the high mortality rate of  hummingbird fledgling death.

 

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Hummingbirds

A Hummingbird’s Body Temperature

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A human being has a normal body temperature of 98.6 degrees.  Have you ever wondered how a hummingbird’s body temperature compares to a humans?  It may surprise you to discover that the hummingbird has a higher body temperature then we humans do.  If so, then this post will provide you with the bit of information you seek.  A hummingbird has a normal body temperature of between 105-108 degrees.  That body temperature can lower by between 20 -50 degrees whenever the hummingbird is trying to conserve energy while in a state of torpor or while food is scarce.

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Hummingbird Feeders

What is an Ant Moat?

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A friend who is a new hummingbird enthusiast recently asked me what I would recommend as the most effective way to solve the problem of ants at your hummingbird feeder.  My response was the use of an ant moat.  She looked at me with a puzzled look on her face and then asked me to explain exactly what an ant moat is and how it works.  That recent experience got me to thinking that there may be others out there who are wondering the same thing, so this is what has inspired me to write about it in this post.

The best description that I can offer of an ant moat is that it is a small cup-like device that hangs between your feeder and your hook.  You then fill the device with water and this then creates a barrier the ants.  Some ant moats are sold separately or some models of hummingbird feeders come with a built in ant moat.  Either one will work and the choice is entirely up to you.

Ants can be a nagging  problem if you have hummingbird feeders, but the ant moat is a great solution to this very common problem.  So look into this as a way to solve this persistent problem.  You will be glad you solved this problem and so will the hummingbirds.

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Hummingbird Food

Hummingbird’s Sources of Food

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Nectar is important to the hummingbird because it can provide a quick bust of energy but this doesn’t last very long.  Therefore, protein is of vital important to the hummingbird’s diet.  Recent studies have indicated that as much as half of the hummingbird’s diet consist of fruit flies, gnats, mosquitoes, aphids, spiders, caterpillars and insect eggs.

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Hummingbirds

The Prower of a Hummingbird’s Vision

Have you ever wondered about the strength or power of the hummingbird’s vision?  If so, then the information in this post will provide you with the information you seek and it may even serve to inform you as well.  

It is believed that a hummingbird can see your feeder from approximately 3/4 of a mile way.  Isn’t that amazing?  The reason for this is because hummingbirds are believed to have 8X binocular vision.   

It may also surprise you to discover that the vision of a hummingbird is better then that of a human.  A hummingbird has the ability to see into the ultraviolet range, can see at a far greater distance, and the hummingbird’s vision allows them to react to things more quickly then we as humans can. 

So, what do you think?  Does what you have discovered make you wish that you yourself had better vision?