Ruby-throated hummingbird chasing goldfinch
Lauren Goodsmith
A female Ruby-throated Hummingbird has been frequenting the pollinator garden that I take care of at my co-op. Goldfinches also visit during the summer, enjoying the seed heads from the hyssop.
I stepped outside late afternoon the other day and saw a male goldfinch fly rapidly away from the pollinator bed, with the hummingbird behind it. To my astonishment, the hummingbird proceeded to chase the goldfinch across the garden, back and forth into two different trees, before the goldfinch retreated over our roof. Well I'd seen hummingbirds defend feeders from others, I had never seen a hummingbird chase a songbird. Small but mighty!
Steve Long
Odd. The hummers that guard my feeders are often rousted by Goldfinches and House Finches coming to drink out of the ant trap.
I wonder if you could have a hummer nest in or near your garden? Not sure, but I suspect young would have left the nest by now. What appeared to be a brownish juvenile was hovering at about arms length watching me water the garden for maybe half a minute, yesterday morning.
Steve Long, Oxford
A female Ruby-throated Hummingbird has been frequenting the pollinator garden that I take care of at my co-op. Goldfinches also visit during the summer, enjoying the seed heads from the hyssop.
I stepped outside late afternoon the other day and saw a male goldfinch fly rapidly away from the pollinator bed, with the hummingbird behind it. To my astonishment, the hummingbird proceeded to chase the goldfinch across the garden, back and forth into two different trees, before the goldfinch retreated over our roof. Well I'd seen hummingbirds defend feeders from others, I had never seen a hummingbird chase a songbird. Small but mighty!
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