Southern Idaho Hummingbirds Show Off In Amazing Aerial Dogfights

My wife and I an old Hummingbird Feeder for our house. My mom, who has lived in Buhl for almost ten years now, told us not to bother hanging it up as she has never seen a Hummingbird here.

Within four hours of hanging up the feeder we had a Hummingbird. Now we have four and they are incredible!

All four are Black-chinned Hummingbirds, and the male's coloration is actually quite beautiful. I love watching their aerial maneuvers as they dive, hover, and race around the front of our house as they jockey for position on the feeder.

We have two males and two females that fight over our feeder. Our first Hummingbird, a little male we named "Petey," is so comfortable with us that he will feed with us standing next to him and even land on the feeder. His nemesis, a chubby little bird we dubbed "Re-Petey," likes to buzz Petey off and is identified by a bright white stripe on his breast.

The two females, "Lola" and "Ryder," lock in combat the same way Petey and Re-Petey do. It is interesting to note that Petey will allow Lola to drink with him but none of the rest will share a drink.

My four year old son Jack asked me how the birds could fly like that and the only thing I could come up with is "magic." They certainly look like they're made of magic to me.

I highly recommend hanging a Hummingbird Feeder outside your home. The nectar is super simple to make: