Ruby-Throated Hummingbirds are now feeding frenetically on Barbara’s Bee Balm to get the nectar needed for their high-energy motors. These hummers are about three to three-and-a-half inches long, but they can fly horizontally up to 25 miles per hour and dive up to 40.
The wingbeats of Ruby-Throats average a blurry 53 per second and, when in passing gear, the beats can reach 200 a second – at which point even the bird becomes a green blur for many of us.
Females, as in this image, don't have the red necklace that their uncaring mates have. The males impregnate the females and just continue north. (Brooklin, Maine)