When I began working with hummingbirds more than 40 years ago, it was a common practice for Georgians to take down their hummingbird feeders in September; this was done because many folks subscribed to the popular belief that, if you left your feeders up past August, you would entice the birds not to migrate.  We now know that hummingbirds migrate due to declining day length and not the availability of food.  As the days become shorter, ruby-throated hummingbirds begin storing fat the fuel needed to complete their long migration.  When it is time for them to leave, abundance of nectar-bearing flowers and hummingbird feeders stocked with sugar water cannot keep them from making this epic trip.

       If you keep your feeders up, you will help provide late migrants with a much-needed source of food.  In addition, it gives you the chance of having your feeders visited by a western hummingbird.  The hummer you are most likely to see in Georgia from November through February is the rufous.

      Ruby-throated hummingbirds exhibit many behaviors that endear themselves to us.  One of my favorites is their habit of flying right up to our faces, hover, and stare directly at us before suddenly zipping off.

       A couple of weeks ago, while I was hanging a feeder full of fresh nectar on a Shepherd’s hook, a hummer that was flying about anxiously awaiting me to complete my task so that it could resume feeding, flew up within a foot of my face and hovered. While he hovered there, I heard the humming of its rapidly beating wings. I stared into the bird’s dark eyes, and he stared back into mine.  It displayed no fear.  Then, in the blink of an eye, it was gone.

       Unbeknownst me, on the same day, half a state away my daughter was treated with a close encounter with a hummingbird of her own. While standing near the entrance to a veterinary office a hummingbird flew up to what appeared to be a red power cutoff switch.  The bird briefly hovered in front of the bright red switch and immediately flew to within inches of her face. The bird seemed to be transfixed with the red and black shoulder strap attached to the purse.  In a few seconds, it departed as quickly as it arrived, leaving my daughter trying to process what just happened.

       When events such as these occur, we never know why hummingbirds display this heart-stopping behavior.  In my case, I believe the bird did not shy away from me because it recognized my face; I am the one that has been refilling feeders at these locations for weeks on end. This belief stems from research that proves hummingbirds are capable of facial recognition.

       The reason why the bird flew so closely to her could possibly be it was checking out potential sources of food.  Since hummingbirds seem to associate red with food, perhaps the bird thought the red color on the shoulder strap and switch were flowers.  Who knows?

       In the end, it matters not why such encounters take place. The fact is such experiences happen more often with hummingbirds than any other bird.  As such, it helps make the birds so very special.

       It is always exciting to have a close encounter with a hummingbird.  There is something exhilarating about looking deep into its eyes.  When this happens to me, I cannot help but wonder what it is thinking about when it looks into my eyes.  What I do know is, when we experience a close encounter with a hummingbird, we are forging a link with the natural world.

        My wife and I have hosted a huge number of hummingbirds this summer.  Many days my wife prepared 16 cups of nectar to keep up with their seemingly insatiable appetite.  The combination of feeding and watching so many hummers and having a close encounter with one at the end of the season, caps off a hummingbird summer we will long remember.