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| Female rufous sided humming bird |
Imagine a world
without hummingbirds. Many of us take
them for granted, although whenever we see one it is a marvel in our eyes. We have four species in our area, with the
rufous sided hummers being the most common.
Anna’s hummingbirds are also very common and have the distinction of
being the only ones that spend the whole year in the southwestern BC. My neighbour keeps a feeder out during the
winter and I frequently see one perching on a nearby tree. The other ones, much less frequent, are the black
chinned and the calliope.
We have just
spent a month in New Zealand. They have
no hummingbirds there. Zero; zilch, none. They have other birds that fill similar
niches, with the Tui being very fond of nectar and being an avian pollinator to
boot. But very few people there have
experienced the joy of watching a hummingbird flit effortlessly from flower to
flower, navigating the air with all the skill of a veteran helicopter pilot. It is kind of sad, in a way.
Of course, they
have their own special birds which are no less amazing in their own special
way. These include unique creatures such
as the fantails, whose antics and constant flittings must on some level equal
the energy output of our hummers. I have
already mentioned the tuis, but let’s not forget the namesake kiwis. Now there is a remarkable bird.
The egg of a
kiwi is huge, emu sized, yet the adult is a little smaller than a chicken
itself. Think of a chicken laying a two
pound egg. It probably weighs more than
that, but I don’t want to go overboard on my comparison. These flightless birds are endangered because
they can’t get out of harms way and the number of predators is increasing. Fortunately there are a lot of management
practices in place which seem to be facilitating a comeback.
I do not
suppose we should feel too sorry for New Zealanders who have never seen a
humming bird, as there are many of us who have never experienced a fantail,
tui, or kiwi. We each have our own
species to be grateful for; to be admired and appreciated. But just like those environmentally sensitive
kiwis, we had better do a good job looking after them, because they could
disappear and we might be the ones not to see them in the future.
