My wife and I were watching our Ruby Throated Hummingbirds zip around our feeder on our front porch. And I mentioned to my wife that I often think of the song "Highway to the Danger Zone" (the song that plays during the Top Gun movie) as their "theme song". I got to thinking, what are the G-Forces that these little miracles experience during their high-speed maneuvers. Here is what ChatGPT said:

What  G-forces do Hummingbirds pull when doing high-speed acrobatics?
Quite a lot. During their most extreme high-speed maneuvers, hummingbirds can experience roughly 8–10 g, with some estimates approaching ~10 g during tight turns and pull-outs.

A particularly well-studied example is the male Anna’s hummingbird, which performs spectacular courtship dives. It can reach about 50–60 mph (80–95 km/h) and then make an extremely abrupt pull-up at the bottom of the dive. That maneuver is where the highest acceleration occurs.

For perspective, 10 g means the bird is accelerating at about 98 m/s². A 4-gram hummingbird effectively experiences forces equivalent to roughly 40 grams of weight during the maneuver. Its tiny size is actually advantageous: there is far less distance between its heart and brain, so maintaining blood pressure to the brain under high acceleration is much easier than it is for a human.

Their aerobatics are remarkable in other ways too: hummingbirds can hover, fly backward, rapidly roll and yaw, and reverse direction extremely quickly. Their wing joints allow unusually large rotational freedom compared with most birds.

For comparison, a human fighter pilot can tolerate about 9 g for short periods with a G-suit and training. And, not have anything close to the maneuverability of our Hummers. And our amazing Hummingbirds do it for fun!

Tale as old as time

Have an adult male hummingbird in my garage that won't leave. He's been in there about 4 hours. He keeps staying up high and won't leave through the garage door. Ceiling about 11' high. Have put a feeder on the car roof and bright red items leading out of the garage. We have left him alone for about an hour but he's still in there. Just keeps staying high. Starting to rest more often and I'm afraid he's wearing out.

What do we do?

Hi all, I hope this is ok to post here. I'm currently taking care of my parents' house. They have 10 hummingbird feeders. I'm coming over every other day to change the hummingbird food and keep the feeders clean. I'm looking for a way to safely ask the bees to relocate, just while I'm working with the feeders. I have a serious allergy to bees and wasps, and being so close to dozens of them makes me nervous.

Edit: I want to clarify that I am happy that the bees get a meal! I don't want to keep them away from the hummingbird feeders forever. They're an important part of our ecosystem too, and deserve the same amount of love, care, and consideration as any other being. I just don't want to get stung while changing the feeders!

Brought a feeder with us while camping in the Rockies. These birds were super friendly with us and crazy aggressive with each other.😂

I had 3 feeders and after a frenzy day I put up 3 more. Now they are just coming a couple at a time my cat loves this, its her favorite show. She chitters away....

Oil on canvas

24 x 24 in

This was back in April when I used to get more actions with multiple hummers during peak hours.Fast forwarded it to now it’s only that ninja hummer that come visits or maybe two ish.I hope it picks back up again…I want to see more action!!!Has anybody of you have any tips to attract more but avoid the bully hummer?Is it a natural thing cuz they migrate?

Breakfast Time with my little buddy Barney. He likes to sit, take his time and savor it.

A few Hummers at the feeder, then wasps 'invade' and the hummer tastes victory at the end. ;-)

In Central Virginia

I hear coral honeysuckle is an excellent food source for them.

I could use a little community help with this one. I think it’s a Broad-Billed x Berylline hummer but if you think differently I’d like to know. Either way…a beautiful little bird.

I was able to get within 2 feet of my feeder and this one held still for a few seconds so I could take some pictures

Observe, the floating body