Hummingbird mothers fearlessly attack hawks, crows, jays, chipmunks, snakes and even yellow jackets in defense of the eggs and young, but not always sucessfully. Accidents, high winds, cold, heavy rains, and heat, account for the remainder of fledgling deaths. Hummingbirds DO NOT migrate on the backs of geese. Migration has been thoroughly studied and each hummingbird migrates alone. Leaving feeder up too long will deter migration.
Hummingbirds eat only nectar.
Females build the nest, completing before mating. Soft and pliable with thick linings Can be made with mosses, leaves, thistledown, spider webs, lichens, bark fibers. Spider web may be wound round structure by bird in flight. At times sites are re-used, several nests being built, one on the other, to produce an abnormally tall structure. It takes about 40 days from laying to fledging.