They'rebaaack!

Don't know about you, dear friends, but the rufous hummingbirds are back at my place and they've brought their kids down from the mountains with them. Well, that's not entirely accurate: From what I have observed over the years, once a hummingbird has fledged there are no ties to mom or dad; they are on their own.

Besides that, dad had nothing to do with raising them. As soon as the apple of his eye is "great with child," he's off to woo and win other females of his kind.

Single moms are the norm.

Once the tiny eggs begin to form in the body of a female hummingbird, her only aim is to make a home for her babies where there is lots of food and cover. Oh, yes, one other ingredient is also vital, spider silk.

Most hummingbirds construct a nest of moss, grass, dandelion fluff and other soft plant material, and then the soon-to-be momma lashes it all together with spit and spider webs.

I once watched an over-eager momma rufous almost do herself in while out foraging for spider silk at OMSI's Hancock Field Station over near Fossil. I wouldn't have noticed her if I hadn't heard a bunch of teenagers cheering, screaming and booing. When I went over to see what all the racket was about, I found a circle of kids standing around an above-ground fuel tank.

I elbowed my way into the mob to see what was going on and there was a female rufous entangled in a black widow's jumbled silken snare. One wing was tangled and every time the hummingbird struggled to get out, the female black widow dashed out to see who she had caught.

When the hummingbird stopped struggling, the spider advanced on her, ready to wrap the bird in silk and administer the coup de grâce. At which, the boys booed and the girls screamed. However, when the spider got inside the hummingbird's comfort zone she would begin flapping her wings furiously in an effort to escape; then the spider retreated and the kids cheered.

Black widow spider silk is the strongest known filament on Earth. The protein fiber is so tough that cables of black widow silk the thickness of a pencil would hold up the Golden Gate Bridge, so that little hummer was in deep trouble.

There is no "good" or "bad" in natural situations like that, it just is. But the fickle finger of fate was on the little hummer's side that day. As the spider rushed out to wrap the hapless hummer, the would-be victim struggled furiously, flipped out of the silken snare and flew off to the resounding cheers of the children watching the drama unfold.

The "good" and "bad" side of this subject is really up to you and me. It is we humans that have the ability to do what is "right" and what is "wrong."

I say this as I know you will be putting up your feeders, if you haven't already. It is in our desire to further enjoy hummingbirds (and nature in general) we do things wrong.

Please, DO NOT use red food coloring in the sugar mix you put out for hummers. Artificial food coloring is bad for people and worse for birds.

There is also another area in which to be careful: your garden. When a hummingbird is foraging in flowers, they are after nectar, of course, but more importantly, they are slurping up tiny invertebrates, such as spiders, gnats, and other small insects. If you've been using chemicals in your garden, there's a chance you will kill your visiting hummers.

And please, when fall comes to Sisters, take in your feeders and encourage our little feathered friends to go on their way to the southern climes where they're supposed to be in winter.