Hummingbirds & their Importance to the Ecosystem

Spring is in the air! The birds are chirping, the flowers are blooming, the bees are buzzing. The Hummingbirds are coming back! Every spring, we see these tiny birds zooming around our yards, collecting nectar and pollinating the flowers. But why are Hummingbirds important to our ecosystem? In this blog, we will talk about Hummingbirds and how they uphold the ecosystem.

Hummingbirds are the world’s smallest bird. The smallest species of hummingbird (the Bee Hummingbird), is so small that it’s the length of your pinky finger. Every day, hummingbirds zoom around, sipping nectar from flowers. It appears that hummingbirds have learnt that vibrantly colored flowers often have the sweetest nectar. If you want to see hummingbirds in your yard, you should plant flowers that are red, orange, blue, pink, and purple. Hummingbirds are the only birds that can drink from trumpet flowers because their long beaks allows them to get nectar from the flowers which no other pollinator can do. 

Let me tell you a fascinating fact about the hummingbird’s tongue.The tongue will open up inside the flower and allow nectar to flow into the hummingbird’s beak. Then, when they are done, they will close their tongue and pull it back into their beak. This is an efficient way to get nectar that has worked for them for hundreds of years.

Nature has its way of sharing its beauty with us. At times, hummingbirds put up a show where it appears the main actor changes their wardrobe so quickly. One moment it's a dull color, the next it's a rainbow of colors. This is because many hummingbirds have reflective feathers that shimmer in the sunlight. When mating, hummingbirds will show off their colors to impress a mate. But, these bright colors would make hummingbirds stand out to predators. So, the hummingbird is smart enough to make its feathers colorful at only certain times.

Hummingbirds are important to the environment because, when they drink the nectar, fuzzy yellow particles called pollen get stuck all over their beak. Later, when they visit another flower, the pollen comes off and transfers to the new flower. Flowers need pollen to reproduce, and without pollinators, we wouldn't have fruits and vegetables.Without the plants reproducing, the animals will not be able to find food. The ecosystem will then collapse into chaos. Pollinators spread all the pollen around and uphold the ecosystem. The main pollinators are hummingbirds, bees, wasps, and flies, but there are many more. 

Next time you see a hummingbird, take a moment to thank these amazing, beautiful creatures that are the very foundation of our world. These hummingbirds prove that small animals can do big things. I love seeing hummingbirds in and around my backyard and neighborhood, don’t you?