Monday, September 27, 2021

THE A--HOLE IS BACK

I am an extreme creature lover.  I take spiders out side and set them free. I spent a day recently freeing a wasp that was trapped in my storm door. I spent my retirement rescuing dogs and cats. But I swear to God, I could shoot this hummer without much thought. 

 This is him from last year and yes, I am pretty sure he is the same A--Hole.  

He looks like any other you say. If you notice he is not drinking but is alert and on the warpath for any interlopers who might want HIS feeder. This year I put two feeders out and for a while I let him hog the one with the lowest amount of nectar. He seemed happy though still a butt hole.  For a while the others enjoyed their own feeder and willingly shared. I have seen 8 perched side by side calmly drinking from the second one. 

Then for some reason this year he suddenly decided they were both his.  Like a feather seeking missile he attacked any who came anywhere near my porch. I'll give him credit, he did an amazing job for none but AH enjoyed a sip once he moved to the dark side. 

While I was watching him and mentally putting a pox on him, something I have never seen happened.  Now wasps often stop by the feeders and the hummers are always leary of the insects.  Wasps have been known to attack hummingbirds. This wasp hunkered down for a sip and A--Hole went berserk. He attacked the wasp.  He wasn't just shooing the insect, he was in full attack mode and went face to face with the wasp. 

At first the wasp was surprised for I'm sure it was use to being given a wide berth by the hummers. Then he realized that AH was actually going to stab him with his long beak and took the safe road and flew off.  Was Greedy happy? No, he chased the wasp into the trees.

After a while the wasp came back. Often A--Hole would hide in the trees and sneak attack any hummer that dared to come near.  Not seeing AH, the wasp felt secure and flew in to try again.  Out of the trees flew AH, chased him into my shrubbery and poked him with his beak. The wasp tumbled out of sight and the smug little bird went back to his perch.

I hate taking food from the migrant hummers this time of year, however the only thing I can do that doesn't involve violence towards this nasty bird is to remove the feeders. 

Now I know hummers are notorious for fighting over feeders but I never had one not allowing any to come near.  Usually it is just a bunch of dives and near misses not physical attacks. 

So I will have to take them down. Do you think I will be safe?  That little Bastid may come after me.  Have you ever seen this crazed behavior before. I have fed hummers most of my adult life and this is a first.

51 comments :

  1. I have four feeders and this behavior is seen all the time. Right now I see females only and they can be just as territorial. But I've never seen one in wasp attack mode!!

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    1. Anni,
      I know. I think he has slipped over the edge. At least last year he was content with his very own feeder.

      Delete
  2. Sounds like he might have short man syndrome.

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    1. Donna,
      Had to laugh. You might be right. I was married to one.

      Delete
  3. I only rarely see peaceful hummers at my feeders, Patti. This year I even saw a hummer chase a chickadee away. A couple of weeks ago they migrated from here. Little scrappers!

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    1. Florence,
      My girls get along pretty well but the males are really aggressive. Chasing a chickadee? My that is ambitious.

      Delete
  4. I'm afraid of hummingbirds. Yes, you read that right. Had one try to dig ear wax out of my ear and one year I had a feeder up they buzzed my head. Too dumb to realize maybe they were attacking me, just thought they were too friendly.

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    1. Jean,
      Yikes, maybe I should wear earmuffs when I go out to remove the feeders. Wouldn't put an attack past this fellow.

      Delete
  5. My kids will be very interested in this story. They make their home very favorable to humming birds and have not had this problem I don't think. Meanwhile, you must watch THE STARLING on Netflix. It is kind of a sad story but it is also about and A-Hole starling.

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    1. Annie,
      Hope my little fellow doesn't make it to your kids feeders. I have never seen one this bad.
      Now I wish I had Netflix.

      Delete
  6. I've heard they could be super aggressive bastards. I have no luck with them. I put up a feeder a few years ago and every morning it was bone dry. Never found out what critter was emptying it. I should try again next year as I have a motion camera now.

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    1. joeh,
      Yikes, there was something bigger than a hummer to drain a feeder over night. A bear or raccoon maybe tipping it for a drink? That would be cool to get on film.

      Delete
  7. I would name him George and have one feeder for him. You know all a-holes wind up in the hole so to speak. Then you can meet the next a-hole. I've seen the dominance at my feeder which is irritating.

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    1. Ann,
      Well he did have his very own feeder but he just wanted it all. I thought of putting one of them at the back of the house but he would probably just circle the house on patrol

      Delete
  8. I was just thinking the same thing as Granny Annie, you have to see that new Melissa McCarthy movie on Netflix 'The Starling'! Well, I only know about hummingbird feeders from the one my mom always kept hanging on her back porch, but I never heard or saw such a thing as this--and I sure never thought I'd feel bad for a lousy wasp, but I do now! I can't wait to hear how this ends!

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    1. Doug,
      You and Annie have made me sorry I don't have Netflix. From what I read, I can relate. There may be an end to this sage. I just saw a white tailed hawk sitting on a low branch about 15 feed from the feeder with his head on swivel. Not sure AH was his only goal but it has been quiet at the feeder this morning.

      Delete
  9. We have an aggressive hummingbird here too. But I have noticed that when he is off somewhere else being a jerk other hummers come by for a quick snack. I have thought about getting a second feeder and hanging it completely out of sight of the first feeder, but where I could still watch it.

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    1. robin,
      The second one worked like magic last year. He sat like an on duty sentry on his while the rest used the second. This year he just got GREEDY.

      Delete
  10. That guy is mean and selfish. Yes, remove the feeders. BTW, thanks for the zoology lesson. LOL.

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    1. gigi,
      Ha ha, hope the lesson was useful and yes, he is really mean.

      Delete
  11. I've never been able to attract hummingbirds to my yard, but my brother has a feeder on his veranda. I don't recall ever seeing them being aggressive towards one another (though there may only be a single pair) and certainly not attacking wasps.

    Perhaps you can hang one of the feeders around the corner from the other so the A-hole can't see both at the same time? Good luck!

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    1. Eileen,
      Normally fortunately but not so much this year, I have a ton of hummers. Last year I was making 3 quarts of nectar a day. This year only 1 since he keeps chasing them off. Think I will take them down and let him move on.

      Delete
  12. Do hummers exert dominance like cats and dogs do? I know they're very territorial but I've never heard of this extreme behavior.

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    1. Margaret,
      Squabbling at the feeders is not new but usually they manage. This is unusual.

      Delete
  13. Wooow! This is so very interesting. I think I only saw a hummingbird once in all my 35 years in Illinois, and I'm not even sure it was a hummingbird. I know it is aggravating, but I loved reading this post, Patti. Have you tried putting the feeders far apart from each other? It would be harder to guard then?

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    1. Kay,
      They are pretty far apart now but he manages. I have to keep them in eyesight so I can tell what is going on.

      Delete
  14. From what we can tell, we only have one pair of hummers here, pretty much year round. I have not seen them fight but we also seldom see them together.
    I immediately thought of the new Netflix movie, The Starling. That bird attacked people. Good movie though.

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    1. Linda,
      Well that makes three of my commenters who mentioned The Starling. I don't get Netflix but I will see if there is another way to get it.

      Delete
  15. We had obnoxious hummingbirds always fighting at the feeder but it got worse at migration time or so it always seemed to me. ANd some would be aggressive if we tried to sit out on the deck where the feeder was located. I used to threaten to take a fly swatter to them after having my head buzzed.

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    1. Olga,
      Ooh, guess I am lucky he hasn't turned on me
      --yet.

      Delete
  16. The A-hole hummer is supposed to eat the wasp to protect us from the wasp's sting. My patient has had 3 Hummer feeders spread apart on his little porch, and a window one. They're supposed to eat insects too, but I think the sugar water is easier. The males scout ahead for sites to nest, then the females and youngsters follow, both north and south. Yep, they want to have their own territory or feeder. I've seen one hide low behind fencing, just to watch and look for others so he can scare them away. Last week, I think they all became friends and fed calmly at each feeder, with 2 on the same feeder at times. They began to look like they were holding hands / wings, must be courting time. When they fly to the window feeder, they look like happy little emojis into our faces. Just put out more feeders next year, and watch A-hole become a little bipolar trying to keep up. My booklet says they may seem to dive-bomb each other but rarely cause injury. Linda in Kansas

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    1. DrumMajor,
      Thanks so much for the info. I had read that the males take no part in nest building or raising of the babies. Seems they leave after making the female a single mom. Had to smile at bipolar remark. I think he is all ready there in his frantic chasing off of everything. Just lucky I guess he is leaving me and my dog alone:)

      Delete
  17. We have a White Winged Dove we call Bully Bird because he exhibits this same behavior at the Feeding Station we set up for Wild Birds. He's a real Territorial one to an extreme, even if he isn't Hungry he'll spin around in circles driving off every other Bird so they can't eat or drink. We finally realized if we set up a separate feeding station apart from the other one, he can't possibly manage both, so the other Birds congregate and Bully Bird can Lord over his Station like a Seed Nazi.

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    1. Bohemian,
      Aww hate to hear it about the dove. Here I thought they were the bird of peace:) So far my guy can handle two stations though it really is running him ragged. Think I'll just take them both down today and hopefully he continues south. Feel for anyone who has feeders out south of me.

      Delete
  18. PS: We have a lot of Hummers in AZ and they are mean spirited to one another often, mostly issuing shrill Tweets and dive bombing one another. Yours seems to be particularly Territorial.

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    1. Bohemian,
      There has always been squabbling at the feeders, he has just gone to the next level. Think Steven King might find a novel here:)

      Delete
  19. I've never had such an aggressive hummingbird. Maybe you should wear armor. What if you took a spray bottle of water and repeatedly squirted him if you got a chance? I'll be interested to see if your bird will leave if you take the feeders down and then put them up later again -- how much later? -- will he return? Ah...the mystery!

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    Replies
    1. Joared,
      I think a power blaster kids toy might do the trick and might be fun:)
      I will take them down today and am not sure how long I will leave them down or just give up for this year. I do like to take care of the migrating birds but he has put a kibosh on that.

      Delete
  20. Yet another reason why I don't put up hummingbird feeders. They are very happy with petunias, fuchsias, impatience among other flowers.

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    1. smartcat,
      That is totally the right way to do it and maybe next year.

      Delete
  21. I also watched The Starling yesterday and thought about it when I read about your A-H hummer. I enjoyed it, so I do hope you get a chance to see it. :-)

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    1. Djan,
      Ha ha, it is a consensus. I really need to find a way to watch The Starling.

      Delete
  22. Yes, he might attack you. You might carefully plan your removals so you stay safe. He's unique.

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    1. Mage,
      I thought about that but I think he realizes I am the one who keeps them filled up. I hope anyway:)

      Delete
  23. I have never had any luck with a hummer feeder. I had no idea they would duke it out with insects. Nature is miraculous.

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    1. Barbara,
      Yes it is. I know they eat insects but more size appropriate than something a third of their size.

      Delete
  24. I told George about him, and we had a good laugh. Never have see had one that territorial here.

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    1. Mage,
      So glad you and George could see the humor.It is funny for it is so ridiculous.

      Delete
  25. This made me laugh (probably inappropriately!). We don't have hummingbirds in the UK. My garden is pretty conflict free on the whole although the robins are quite territorial and have a scrap occasionally!

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    1. AMKT,
      It is funny especially when you realize these birds are so tiny. I found a dead one once that fit in the palm of my hand and I have small hands. The only thing they have going for them is that they are so darn cute.

      Delete
  26. I am over being thrilled to see humming birds ... I literally can't sit on my deck and read without them letting me know they want me gone. They actually zoom between the book that I hold and myself. I did just like you did Patti ... I took the darn feeder down !!

    ReplyDelete

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