Now here's how to fly...

[Weaver]

Great little slo-mo video on youtube of a Hummingbird encontered randomly in San Francisco and filmed on a phone. Momma nature showing you how it's done.....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uLqy_ZZvsYk&feature=em-uploademail

[PR19_Kit]

That's AMAZING! 

That's some very clever control system operating there, the bird's head is ROCK steady in the hover, and he/she backs off and translates sideways with the head still locked onto its target!

[Weaver]

Yep, and you can see from the motion of the bushes that she was doing it in a blustery wind too.

[NARSES2]

Yup they are amazing creatures. Have been lucky enough to see them both in the wild and in one of those enclosed aviaries where they are free to fly along with the butterflies and we are free to walk.

[kitnut617]

We watch the ones that are in our yard each summer, at first they were hard to spot because they're so small. But now we know what to look for and we spot them quite easily.

I managed to get a 'burst' photo one time this year, I'll have to download it off the camera and post a sequence of photos here

[Go4fun]

Could you see a Harrier to Harrier refueling goings as smoothly in gusty conditions with the drogue floating all over?
Mother Nature has built some real marvels.

[kitnut617]

just watched that video, that's actually quite a big hummingbird, the ones we get in our yard are about 1/3rd that size.  And we have those type of flowers growing in the flower bed too (along with some red flowers but couldn't tell you what they're called though) and the hummingbirds we get just don't go to them, just the red ones.

[eatthis]

beautiful biomechanics at work

[Captain Canada]

Love watching those birds. I've been meaning to put in a Trumpet vine as they just love that flower....maybe next year !

[rickshaw]

They are the Bird's attempt at filling the same ecological niche that insects do.  They have to consume massive (for their body weight) amounts of nectar apparently, in order to provide the required energy to flap those wings so fast (over a hundred beats a second IIRC).  I remember reading an article about them in New Scientist which pointed out all these amazing facts about them.   My ex was besotted with them.

[zenrat]

Aint nature wonderful.
This prompted a discussion with Mrs z as to why we don't get them here.  The nectar from the plants in our yard gets eaten by Wattlebirds and Honeyeaters which use the "land on the stem and nearly snap the damn thing off" technique.

[rickshaw]

Aint nature wonderful.
This prompted a discussion with Mrs z as to why we don't get them here.  The nectar from the plants in our yard gets eaten by Wattlebirds and Honeyeaters which use the "land on the stem and nearly snap the damn thing off" technique.

Most Australian birds actually live off the Pollen.  The Nectar is just an added bonus to them.

[Old Wombat]

Aint nature wonderful.
This prompted a discussion with Mrs z as to why we don't get them here.  The nectar from the plants in our yard gets eaten by Wattlebirds and Honeyeaters which use the "land on the stem and nearly snap the damn thing off" technique.

We did ... but the spiders ate them!