This reminds me of a segment on the recent Nature episode on hummingbirds. A 
researcher in SE Arizona discovered that Black-chinned Hummingbirds nested in 
clusters near Cooper's Hawk nests. First, the hawks aren't agile enough to catch 
the hummingbirds. Even if they caught one, it would hardly be enough calories to 
compensate for the expended effort. And secondly the Coops ate birds that preyed 
on hummingbirds. So it's also possible that other hummingbird species have a 
similar nesting strategy and hence aren't really afraid of the hawks and may see 
them more as benefactors.
 
Tyler Bell

California, Maryland 




________________________________
From: Patricia Valdata <>
To: 
Sent: Sun, December 5, 2010 7:28:34 PM
Subject: [MDOSPREY] Pugnacious Rufous in College Park

I had to go down to Greenbelt today, so I detoured briefly to College Park
to see Rick Borchelt's Rufous Hummingbird. I was afraid it was going to be a
no-show when a Cooper's Hawk landed in a tree at the edge of the yard and
sat there, making a Goldfinch freeze on its feeder, but after a few moments
the hummer zoomed into position a few feet in front of the hawk, hovering in
front of it as if to say "This yard ain't big enough for the both of us." I
wish I'd had a camera with me! The hummer then sat on a branch of its own,
still facing the hawk, and after a couple of minutes more flew down to the
feeder, presumably satisfied that she'd made her point. She certainly made
my day!

Pat Valdata
Elkton, MD