I see hummingbirds every day – many times a day – especially in the morning and evening and do not look forward to the day in the near future when they leave for the fall and winter months.

The lighting at our feeder is best during the evening, so that is when most of these were taken. As I went through these pictures I realized that every photo is of a female. I feel that I see more males than females.

As with most people in our area, we have Ruby-throated Hummingbirds.

To add something interesting to this post, I decided to look up (google) how many time their wings flap – and found a lot of other interesting things.

The following photos are all mine, but the facts came from the internet.

Hummingbird’s wings beat between 50 and 200 flaps per second depending on the direction of flight, the purpose of their flight, and the surrounding air conditions.

Hummingbirds can fly sideways, backwards, up and down and even hover in midair.

Hummingbirds’ feet don’t work very well. In fact, they can hardly walk, though their feet can be used to scoot sideways while they are perched. They also use their feet for itching and preening.

Hummingbirds have 1,000 to 1,500 feathers, the fewest number of feathers of any bird species in the world.

Roughly 25 to 30 percent of a hummingbird’s weight is in its pectoral muscles. These are the broad chest muscles principally responsible for flying.

An average hummingbird’s heart rate is more than 1,200 beats per minute. In comparison, a human’s average heart rate is only 60 to 100 beats per minute at rest.

Hummingbirds have no sense of smell but have very keen eyesight.

Their eggs measure less than 1/2 inch long but may represent as much as 10 percent of the mother’s weight at the time the eggs are laid. A hummingbird egg is smaller than a jelly bean!

A hummingbird must consume approximately one half of its weight in sugar daily, and the average hummingbird feeds five to eight times per hour. In addition to nectar, they also eat many small insects and spiders, and may also sip tree sap or juice from broken fruits.

Hummingbirds do not suck nectar through their long bills, they lick it with fringed, forked tongues. Capillary action along the fringe of their tongue helps draw nectar up into their throats so they can swallow. A hummingbird can lick 10 to 15 times per second while feeding.

There are more than 325 unique hummingbird species in the world. Only eight species regularly breed in the United States.

The average ruby-throated hummingbird weighs 3 grams. In comparison, a nickel weighs 4.5 grams. It would take more than 150 ruby-throated hummingbirds to weigh one pound.

A hummingbird’s maximum forward flight speed is 30 miles per hour. These birds can reach up to 60 miles per hour in a dive.

The ruby-throated hummingbird flies 500 miles nonstop across the Gulf of Mexico during its spring and fall migrations.

The peak fall migration period for hummingbirds is from mid-July through August or early September, depending on the route and the exact species. Species that nest further north begin migration earlier.

At rest, a hummingbird takes an average of 250 breaths per minute. Their breathing pace increases when they are in flight.

The average lifespan of a wild hummingbird is three to 12 years.

Despite their small size, hummingbirds are one of the most aggressive bird species. They will regularly attack jays, crows, and hawks that infringe on their territory. Backyard birders often find they have one dominant hummingbird that guards all the feeders, chasing intruders away.