Breakfast of Champions

Most of you who know me, know that I joke about my personal "breakfast of champions..." Diet Coke with Splenda

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But after the next few pictures, maybe we could all agree that hummingbirds are champions in their own right and watching them fight for their breakfast offers us a glimpse of something a bit more heroic than my version.

 Here are a couple of crazy facts from birding.about.com...

• The average ruby-throated hummer 3 grams. In comparison, a nickel weighs 4.5 grams.
• A hummingbird’s wings beat between 50 and 200 flaps per second depending on the direction of flight and air conditions.
•  Hummingbirds do not suck nectar through their long bills, they lick it with fringed, forked tongues. (If you look really carefully, you can see one in the top picture, left hummer...cool.)
• A hummingbird must consume approximately 1/2 of its weight in sugar daily, and the average hummingbird feeds 5-8 times per hour.
• Despite their small size, hummingbirds are one of the most aggressive bird species (probably because they have to eat so much...)

Courageous little creatures. I have yet to see on in Palm Beach. Do they migrate through here?

Anyway, enjoy your day in the mountains or by the shore. Eli