Visual Identification

Voice

Soft twittering like that of a swift but shortened. Their most common call is soft, clear chips. It is as if a swift only made the first note of their song. They will make erratic chips when chasing other birds, same species, or different.

Habitat

Hummingbirds prefer shady woodlands. This includes dense riparian woodland, mature forest, shady forest edge, or flowery clearings in dense woodland. They will sometimes visit suburbia for feeders and/or tubular flowers. They often perch and nest near or over moving water sources.

Where and When to see them

Hummingbirds are most common at Glencarlyn Park and Long Branch park. They are uncommon at Lubber Run Park. They have nested at Glencarlyn Park. The best spot for viewing them is the Long Branch nature center. The center puts out feeders for them and also plants lots of good hummingbird attracting plants, such as cardinal flowers. They are most commonly seen at the feeders. Another good place to see them is the Glencarlyn Park playground. They are mostly seen in early fall and late spring/early summer.

Behavior

Hummingbirds are small birds whose diet consists mostly of nectar. They will go around searching for flowers/feeders to drink from. They prefer flowers that are more tubular. They also eat insects. Some can be seen perching on snags out in the open, looking at flying insects for the best one, then suddenly flying out and catching them and then returning to a nearby perch.

Comparisons

They are similar to most large bugs, including large bees (carpenter and bumble), wasps (European paper), large beetles (bess and jewel), and dragonflies (darners, dragonhunters, skimmers, etc.). They can be told apart by the fact that hummingbirds have a more direct flight, often a lot smoother and softer. Hummingbirds also have wings that allow them to go in any direction, so they are much more agile.