“C” Challenge: Combative, Confrontational

Posted on by Fergiemoto
Hummingbird Fight
Hummingbird Fight, a photo by Fergiemoto on Flickr.  (click on photo to enlarge)
Linking up with Texture Tuesday, Windows on Wildlife, Our World Tuesday, Tuesday Tips and Pics, Weekly Top Shot  and Nature Notes.

>>:::<<
swift, charming beauty
feisty, relentless fireball
greedy hummingbird
>>:::<<

Today, in our yard, I captured this confrontation by two hummingbirds.  These types of displays have been an all-day occurrence lately.

Last Friday, I noticed a new hummingbird to our feeders.  It was a bright, glowing, copper/orange-colored hummingbird – so beautiful and eye-catching…until I realized how aggressively it was attacking the other hummingbirds.  It fervently patrols its newly claimed territory and attacks other hummingbirds approaching the feeders with such intense speed, force and combativeness that it almost knocks me off-balance when it flies by me.  They are much noisier than the others and are not afraid to confront and threaten other larger birds near the feeders, and even me (tail fanning is considered a threat display)!

After a google search, I believe what we have is a Rufous Hummingbird.  The Rufous is the most aggressive of the hummingbirds, very defensive and are known to overtake territories already established by other birds.  They will exhibit threat displays at other creatures, including humans.  The other hummingbirds around our yard (black-chinned and broad-tailed) are territorial, which is typical, but not near as aggressive as the Rufous.  Today, I noticed we now have at least three of these feisty Rufous’…but they certainly are pretty.

There is plenty of food to go around.  We have several bird feeders and have planted many flowers that attract butterflies, bees and hummingbirds.

Yet how tragic to spend all day in confrontation.  It would be nice if there could be more sharing, and less greed and fighting…by all species.
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This is for the letter “C” Story Challenge by Frizztext, to share a short story or reflection, even an aphorism using a word tagged with each letter of the alphabet.
Kim Klassen textures used are Mayzee and BeStill

References:

41 responses to ““C” Challenge: Combative, Confrontational”

  1. Beautifully done, Fergie! I like how you made the photo into a triptych to tell a story. The texture you added is great for the photo as well.

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  4. Holy cow – great photos! We only have one species of hummers here in the northeast, so I’ve never witnessed the interactions between species. Rufus Hummingbirds seem to be the Jack Russells of the bird world – big dog personality in a small dog body. 🙂

    Thanks for participating in Windows on Wildlife!

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  5. Good capture of those little creatures. You most have been shooting a fast speed & a large f/stop. Good shooting -good sharpness. I like photographing humming birds myself. good job.

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  8. I didn’t know there were the most aggressive, but I have 3 male ruby-throats guarding the hummer feeders and today one of them buzzed me..they are very defensive and bold..gotta love it.. Thank you for this great series on these mighty mites…Michelle

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  15. There is a beautiful and graceful touches in these photographs… I am impressed so much dear Fergie, your creative mind and beautiful spirit fascinated me into the words and images… Thank you, love, nia

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  19. A great little sequence of fighting hummingbirds. Quite impressive that you were able to captured those fast moving birds with such sharpness and timing. A very nice post. A, yes, hummingbird as beautiful as they look, they are generally surprisingly aggressive. Wouldn’t it indeed be nice if there could be more sharing, and not only among hummingbirds…

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  29. thank you for your political statement:
    “how tragic to spend all day in confrontation. It would be nice if there could be more sharing, and less greed and fighting…by all species…”
    frizz: actually: in Syria

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  33. Pingback: Windows on Wildlife: Deceased Spruce Grouse : Withywindle Nature

  37. Terrific series of images, your backyard is a very entertaining place!

    Thanks for visiting ‘The Naturephile’ and taking the time to like my posts. I’ve been meaning to stop by here for a while, and I finally made it. And I’m very glad I did. Beautiful photographs and a great read. BW. Finn

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  38. I loved this post, Fergiemoto, your photo of course, but also your reflection was so engaging and informative about the Rufous Hummingbird. Even in the ‘animal’ kingdom there are those who need to learn that getting along is better than competition, peace better than war.

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  40. Perhaps the fact these aggressive but beautiful creatures have come to land on your feeders is that they are searching for food further than their normal territory and, therefore, are ‘claiming’ your feeders. Maybe if you spaced out the feeders within your garden, they could have one all to themselves! Fantastic collection of images. Liked.

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  41. We used to have a migration of Rufous hummers that came through in the spring. I literally had to put out nearly a fresh gallon daily when that bunch swarmed in. They are extremely feisty and I would put a quart sized feeder at all four ends of the house. I swear some of them would try to dominate all four feeders somehow. They would eventually settle down and I sometimes had six of them feeding at the same time. Oh how I wish I’d taken pics then. Now, since I’ve moved, I’m having a hard time finding a suitable, safe place to hang a feeder.

    Our year-round variety (can’t remember now if they were Ruby throats or Anna’s) were a lot calmer. They are incredible to watch.

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Thanks so much for your comments!