In the fall I see hummers constantly giving the warblers a hard time in my
yard, and the warblers don't have to be near the hummer feeders. I think
they sometimes just enjoy the chase, probably in the same way that warblers
sometimes chase any other bird that takes to the air.
Roger Mayhorn
Compton Mt
Buchanan County
----- Original Message -----
From: "Scott Priebe" <falco57@xxxxxxx>
To: "va-bird" <va-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Sunday, July 25, 2010 3:44 PM
Subject: [Va-bird] [va-bird] Agressive hummer in Springfield
I observed one of the R.-t. hummers (female or imm.) that visit our feeder chasing non-hummers this morning. The first victim was a T. Titmouse. The hummer was diving at it as it flitted from branch to branch. This lasted for about 1 min. before the Titmouse flew away. The Titmouse was at least 25' away from the hummer feeder and the hummer's perching sites the entire time.
The second victim was a Ca. Chickadee, who apparently ventured too close to the hummers perches. The Chickadee was less bothered by the attention than was the Titmouse, but also gave in and flew away after about 30 sec. of being harrassed.
I've seen hummers buzz song birds that were right at the hummer feeder drinking from the ant trap or clinging to it, but not this sort of extended harassment.
Scott Priebe
Springfield, VA
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