They Do More Than Just Hum You Know!

I love this time of year! The tree's are starting to bud and flowers are starting to peek through the ground. Soon the hummingbirds will be migrating back to our part of the state and that I have to say is something I look forward to every year.

I have planted a vine that intertwines my entire front porch and is covered in a red trumpet looking flower. The hummingbirds love it and will actually hover right in front of your face while you sit there watching them. It is an awesome sight to behold!


I will never forget last year when my husband commented that there was a hummingbird flying around back at the patio doors. I said that is odd; there is nothing back there to attract hummingbirds. No feeders or colorful plantings, nothing at all really. We both moved on and I thought nothing else about it.

A couple of days later Abby, who was eight at the time, yelled excitedly, “Mommy there is a hummingbird around back near the patio!” Again! I thought to myself. So I said to her, “Really, a hummingbird, wonder what it’s doing back there?” She looked at me with disgust in her eyes and said “Well, they do more than just hum you know!

Such a profound statement from such a little girl. I have to tell you that smarted when she said that. It also got me tickled and I wanted to say, "Well ok Miss Smarty Pants, what else do they do??? " For that matter they don’t hum, that is just the sound that their wings make because they are beating so fast, so there!

After a small amount of research on the internet my suspicions were confirmed and the main purpose of the hummingbird is the pollination of plants. They also eat insects such as mosquitoes and other insects as well.

The crazy thing is they have to consume quite a large amount of nectar every day (twice their body weight) to meet the demands of their body or they could die in a matter of hours.

Hmmmm, or should I say Hummmmm? Those pretty little creatures are living the life that most eight year old children would love, consuming twice their body weight in sweets every day!!