Little Speedsters!

  Now here is something for you to ponder.  An average heart rate for a hummingbird is approximately 250 times per minute...while resting! Compare that to a human heart rate of between 60 and 100 beats per minute and you can see what an amazing thing this is!  Now....figure this!  When in flight the heart rate of the hummingbird goes up to a whopping 1,220 times per minute! Our hearts would have exploded far before reaching that stage!  Supposedly, the maximum human heart rate during activity can roughly be figured at 220 minus the person's age. I am no expert on hearts. I just find the hummingbird/human comparison interesting.

  I was pondering all of this today as I sat watching hummingbirds divebomb each other as they tried to sip nectar from the trumpet vine. Those diving flights are amazingly fast with each being close to 40 mph.  For such a tiny bird, they lead some fast moving lives!  This is all about survival. The little birds need to fill up as much as possible on this stop of their migration.  It will not be long before they head further south.  This last jaunt will take them across the Gulf of Mexico and will be a nonstop flight.  It will take them nigh on twenty hours of straight flying to reach their next pit stop before heading on into Central America.  Once they began that journey across the water, they will have to endure whatever weather they find.  It is not an easy flight.  

  The little birds, today, were feeding heavily.  Not only is the yard filled with flowers, I have several feeders filled for their dining pleasure.  The feeders will stay until the weather cools and the birds are on their merry way.  It is the least I can do for these fine feathered friends! 

  Oh...and consider this!  Those tiny wings beat an average of 60 to 80 times per second in normal flight so how many beats of the wings will it take to get across the Gulf of Mexico???  Geez!  Eat up, Little Hummers!  You are going to need that extra energy! (We, humans, are slackers!)