Hummingbird Declares Garden Feeder His Personal Property

A hummingbird in a suburban garden has declared a red plastic sugar-water feeder to be his personal property, despite the feeder having four identical drinking ports and enough sugar water for, by the homeowner's estimate, a small flock. The bird, who weighs roughly as much as a small coin, has held the feeder since early June. He does not appear to drink from it very often. He mostly guards it.

His routine is well established. He sits on a thin twig on a nearby lilac bush, from which he can see the feeder, the fence and a large part of the sky. The moment another hummingbird appears, he launches himself at it with a furious buzzing noise and a sharp, squeaky chatter, and chases it across two gardens and a garage. Then he returns to the twig, fluffs his feathers and resumes watching, looking very pleased with himself.

Other hummingbirds have tried several approaches. One attempted to drink very quickly while he was chasing somebody else. Another arrived at dawn, before he was fully awake. A third simply hovered at a polite distance, hoping to negotiate. All three were chased away, the last one twice, including once from a flower that was nowhere near the feeder, which witnesses felt was going a bit far.

The homeowner has done her best to keep the peace. When she hung a second feeder right next to the first, the bird defended both. When she moved it to the other end of the patio, he defended both of those as well, flying back and forth so rapidly that he seemed to be in two places at once. He has since been seen taking a short rest on the washing line, breathing very fast and staring at the sky.

Asked to explain himself, the hummingbird hovered at eye level for three seconds, made a noise like a tiny squeaky hinge and left. A neighbour's cat, who has watched the whole summer from a sunny windowsill, has declined to take sides, but describes the bird as exhausting.

This behaviour is very real. Many hummingbirds, especially males, are fiercely territorial about good sources of nectar, including garden feeders. They perch nearby to keep watch and chase off rivals, often with dramatic dives and chattering calls. That fierceness makes sense for such a tiny animal, because hummingbirds burn energy extraordinarily fast. They beat their wings many times a second, need to feed very frequently during the day and, on cold nights, can drop into a deep, energy-saving state called torpor.

With fuel that precious, a reliable supply is worth fighting for, even when there seems to be plenty to go round. Birdwatchers often recommend a simple solution. Instead of hanging several feeders close together, put them in different parts of the garden, out of sight of each other. A single bird cannot guard them all at once, and the other hummingbirds finally get their turn. It will not make the guardian any less dramatic, but it does make for a much calmer garden.