• In the spring of 2003 we received 7 baby Hummingbirds to care for but not all of them survived. It takes constant attention and feeding and still their chances of surviving without the mother is slim.

• Hummingbirds can fly forward, backward, sideways and stop in mid-air.

• The adult Hummingbird consumes half its weight in nectar each day and is the world's smallest bird. Since Hummingbirds have no sense of smell they locate their food by sight. They lap nectar with their tongues, and will also eat very small insects such as gnats for protein. Hummingbirds eat about every six minutes. .

• Their normal speed during flight is around 25 mph but they can reach speeds up to 50 miles an hour. Their wings beat about 80 times per second during flight and up to 2000 times during a dive. These birds are highly suited for flight, with 25% of their body weight being composed of flight muscles.

• A Hummingbird's egg is about the size of a pea.

• The nest of the ruby throated hummingbird is a small work of art built by the female, and made of silky material from spider webs, and fiber from plants. The nest is lined with plant material and camouflaged with lichen, a type of tree fungus that helps to insulate and hide the nest from predators.

• Sometimes ruby throated hummingbirds make their home in residential areas that are near gardens of trumpet shaped flowers. The same nest site may be used again each year but the nest itself must be rebuilt each spring.

• The female ruby throated hummingbird usually lays two dull white colored eggs. They are about the size of a jellybean. The incubation period is about 16-18 days, a little longer in cool weather. Once the eggs hatch, the female watches over the naked baby birds. They are only about one inch long at birth, but continue to double their weight every day for the first three to four days. The mother hummingbird watches over the young and feeds them for about three weeks. Soon after this period, they are on their own to build nests and begin their own families.

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