Cooper’s Hawks and Hummingbirds Coexisting
We watched a Nature show on PBS this past week that featured all different kinds of Hummingbirds.
I love these little birds and this show had so many interesting facts and the photos and footage are just something.
One thing I found most fascinating is that the tiny little Black Chinned Hummingbird builds it’s nest in the same tree as the Cooper’s Hawk, a bird of prey.
In fact, there is not just one hummingbird nest in the tree, but dozens of them clustered around the hawk’s nest.
And they all live in peace and harmony as they hatch and raise their young.
And the reason for this: the hawks prey on all the little animals and critters that prey on the hummingbirds.
These little hummingbirds know they are safe around the hawks.
They are way too small for the hawk to bother with, so they leave them alone.
Nature is so amazing!
We live in western WA state and up until a few years ago we never realized that our hummingbirds stay with us even through the winter! They are out at the feeder bright and early in the morning, and are probably some of the last birds to go roost at night. We’ve been watching them as they scope out the other birds at our seed feeders too. They seem to want to be with them, but they could just be territorial and want to ‘intimidate’ the juncos and jays.
January 26th, 2010 at 2:13 amI love to read your blog its very interesting, keep it up! and more power!
January 28th, 2010 at 1:20 amHealth Assistant
There’s a little hummingbird that seems to live in my backyard and flies around all the time. It’s so pretty!
February 11th, 2010 at 9:00 pm