By  Gary Cochard – November 2025

By the time you read this article, you will have noticed that the hundreds of hummingbirds (hummers) that visit Lake Anna each summer have long since departed for warmer climes.  Hummers are a family of small, vibrant birds native to the Americas, with unique flying abilities and extremely high metabolisms.  They are the smallest of all birds, and their high-energy lifestyle requires constant feeding and unique adaptations for survival. They are amazing little creatures. The smallest “Bee Hummingbird” of Cuba, is only about 2 inches long and weighs less than a dime. And the largest hummingbird, called the “Giant Hummingbird”, is between 8 and 9 inches long weighing less than an ounce.

Hummers are the only bird that can hover and fly backwards. This is possible as their shoulder joints allow their wings to rotate 180 degrees.  Their wings beat at remarkable speeds from 12 to 80 times per second.  Their tongues are grooved and split at the tip, with tiny hairs that help them lap up nectar by flicking their tongue in and out up to 13 times per second.

Hummingbirds have the highest metabolism of any warm-blooded animal, needed to support their active flight.   Each day, they can consume up to double their body weight in food.  To my surprise, a primary food source of hummingbirds is small insects and spiders, needed to get the protein and nutrients they need. Nectar, of course, is also a favorite food source providing the much-needed energy to sustain their busy lifestyle. To conserve energy during the night or when food sources are scare, hummers will enter a state of deep, hibernation-like sleep called torpor, dramatically slowing their heart rate and metabolism. Their heart rate can drop from 1200 beats per minute to as low as 50 beats per minute, and their body temp will drop from 104 degrees to near 50 degrees.  They go into torpor for several hours each night and must do so or they would starve to death.  They are very vulnerable to predators during torpor.  Cats, snakes, hawks, jays, praying mantises, and frogs head up a list of many predators. The life expectancy of most hummingbirds is only 3 to 5 years, although the actual lifespan varies by species and individual factors.  Surviving the first year is the biggest challenge.

When it comes to reproducing and nesting the male takes a back seat once the mating ritual is complete. Males do not participate in nesting or raising their young.  The female alone builds the nest, incubates the eggs, and feeds the chicks.   A clutch of two eggs, each about the size of a jellybean, is the normal number.  The nest, made from moss, plant fibers and lichen and bound together with spider silk, is about the size of a walnut.  The spider silk allows the nest to be flexible and expand as the chicks grow.  Once they’ve left the nest and learned to feed on their own, it’s soon time to migrate.  The young hummingbirds must navigate their first long journey south strictly on instinct, as hummers are solo migrators, traveling alone, not in flocks or groups.  Shortly before migrating, they will increase their body weight by 25-40% storing fat for the long, energy-intensive journey.

But come spring, most of these little creatures will make the long journey north returning to their breeding ground here at Lake Anna.  Often, they will take up residence at/near the same location used in the previous year.

There is much more to learn about these little creatures, but I hope I’ve provided you with a few facts you may not have known.  Thanks for reading!

gary.cochard@lakeannavirginia.org