Posted on 06/16/2009 6:23:55 PM PDT by GSP.FAN
It may be just four inches long - but the tiny hummingbird flies faster than a space shuttle and a fighter jet. Scientists have discovered that the animal performs the quickest aerial manoeuvre in the natural world compared to its size.
Researchers from the University of California, Berkeley found that the courtship dive of Anna's hummingbird is 58 mph making it the fastest animal on earth
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
Grammy took these photos a few days ago of the mother hummingbird feeding her hatchlings.
The nest is is her backyard, 30 feet off the ground up in a tree
Very nice photos!
Thanks dennisw for posting these for me. Mr G is the photographer in the family. I just found the nest.
8-)
We had a big storm go through here yesterday. The babies are too big for momma to really sit on the nest now, so she clung on to the edge and spread her wings to protect the babies from the wind and rain. It was really something to watch.
Very nice pictures zeebee.
It’s hard to get photos of hummingbird nests if they usually build then 30 ft off the ground
Do you have a feeder and some plants that they go to in your garden?
Isn’t it amazing what 5/9/10 Billion years can do for you.
They are amazing little creatures...
LOL. How could you tell any difference?
Our house is built on a steep slope and our property is heavily wooded. The front door is at ground level, and so is the basement door in the back. That means our 2nd story is actually 3 stories high in the back of the house. It is kind of like living in a tree house.
8-)
The nest is even with the windows on the back of our 2nd story.... about 30 feet high.
The hummer feeder is on our front porch. We don’t have a lot of flowers, since we are in deep shade most of the time. Our hostas used to bloom pretty well, but the deer think that I planted them a salad bar, so no flowers this year.
We have kept tabs on momma hummer, and she leaves the nest for up to an hour. At one point she spent a lot of time sitting near the feeder just primping and eating. I think she is getting other food for her chicks.
One year during a drought we had about 20 hummers surrounding a 1 quart feeder. They didn’t even bother fighting to defend the feeder, just waited for their turn. They would empty the feeder every day.
and let’s see a hummingbird carry sidewinder missles!
Bingo! I would take a falcon into a fight any day.
In zero G it wouldn’t take many wing flaps to maintain position or move. It would be an interesting experiment.
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