Most people only observe hummingbirds when they’re flying around feeding on flowers or at feeders, but hummingbirds spend the majority of their time perched. They’re not always easy to spot but a hummingbird will find a favorite branch and that’s where the bird will sit most of the time.
So what do they do there? Well one of the things they do is they stretch and they preen. Preening is what a bird does to fix its feathers and get them in top-notch condition for flying. I love taking pictures of hummingbirds that are preening, because you can get them in some pretty cute and unusual positions.
They also watch out for insects. Insects are hummingbird’s main food source. That’s where they get their protein from. The insects they consume provide all of the protein, fats, vitamins and minerals such as calcium, phosphorus and Vitamin A which are important for their overall health.
The nectar provides carbohydrates and the carbohydrates are their fuel they need to go after their real food which is the insects. Think of the nectar as their gasoline.
Sometimes you’ll see a hummingbird on a perch with its mouth opening and closing it means there’s a swarm of little insects right around the hummingbird and it will just catch them right there. Other times you’ll see one swoop down from their perch and catch a bug in midair and then just turn around and go right back to the perch. But they are watching for little insects all of the time.
But mostly they’re perching to keep an eye on their main food source. If it’s a less dominant bird it’ll perch in a little more hidden area and keep an eye on the hummingbird that’s trying to chase it away from that same food source. So if you want to bring your hummingbirds down to a spot so you can observe them provide perches for them.
If you take a look at this balcony you can see that there are dead tree limbs attached to the railings so there are lots of places for the hummingbirds to perch. And they do perch very close to the feeders.
Lots of different plants have long thin limbs where the hummingbirds can perch. If you live in a warm climate, Bougainvillea is a good choice. It’s not unusual for me to see four five six birds at a time perched on one bougainvillea branch.
I bought a manzanita branch in a pet store because I thought Fillmore, my pet parrot would enjoy chewing on it. Of course you buy something for your parrot they’ll never go near it. They only want to chew your furniture and stuff they’re not supposed to be chewing. But a good use for this manzanilla branch was putting it out there for the hummingbirds and they perched on it all the time. You can buy artificial branches that work well. Artificial Manzanita Branches – paid link.
I also provide many little swings in several areas and the hummingbirds love to perch on them. Pop’s Birding Hummingbird Swing – paid link.
I’ve even seen hummingbirds perch on zip ties. 12 Inch Zip Cable Ties – paid link.
It’s very very easy just to provide some branches and they will come and they’ll sit closer to your feeders so they can watch them. Another advantage of having perches closer to your feeders is that the bird will be less likely to get a far off perch way up high in a tree where it can swoop down and monopolize all of your feeders from one spot.
