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Attracting Hummingbirds to View Mating and Nesting
The “G’s” to “Zee’s” of Mating First, the male stakes out a territory that will provide a source of food and safe place to raise baby Hummingbirds. While he must constantly defend his turf the male Hummingbird must also work at finding a mate. The male makes a series of impressive deep arcing swoops to catch her attention. The visual display is accentuated by flashing colours created by his “gorgets” The “gorgets” are flat iridescent feathers around the neck, that flash brightly when the sun is reflected on them at certain angles. Consequently, the more he swoops and dives, the greater the number of angles the sun can catch the brilliant colours of his feathers. The better the show, the better the chances of catching the attention of the female.
Perhaps one could suggest that for the female Hummingbird, the male’s gorgets are the diamonds of their world. Although “gorgets are a girl’s best friend” just doesn’t seem to have the same ring as “diamonds are a girl’s best friend”.
The whole process of attracting a mate seems very arduous for such little creatures, especially when you consider that Hummingbirds do not mate for life. Each spring the male must start the whole process over again. A note about the “Gorgets”: Although the gorgets are used during courtship, they have another purpose. They are like human fingerprints. The pattern created by the gorgets is different on each Hummingbird. They are used to make a statement in territorial disputes. After the mating process is completed, the female will drive the male away and his participation in the process is finished until mating season the next year. Thankfully, our efforts to entice these tiny birds are much easier. Attracting Hummingbirds is as easy as placing a feeder with fresh syrup in an appropriate area of our backyard.  Nesting: “A Female Hummingbird’s Work is Never Done” The female prefers to build the nest, incubate the eggs, raise the young and defend her territory by herself. She may even chase the male away. Attracting Hummingbirds males is now out of season for her! Hummingbird females build a nest about two and a half inches wide on the outside diameter. This of course depends on the species, some will be smaller and some larger. This tiny compact nest is made of various materials depending on the area where the female Hummer is living. Some use plant down, plant fibers, lichen and most species use spider silk to hold their nest together. This picture clearly shows the compact quarters of a Hummingbird nest.
A penny could fit in the inside of a nest and cover three eggs. Most Hummingbirds only lay two white eggs in their nests. Nests are often built on a horizontal branch of a tree or bush that provides dense cover. Some females have been known to return to the very same nest year after year. But instead of house cleaning last years nest, she will build a complete new one right on top of the old one. This can result in a pile of three or four nests. At first the female feeds her young a diet of insects. This will mean less activity around your Hummingbird feeder. But once the youngsters start flying, the action at feeders will be constant. In fact, in mid-summer our backyard often resembles a busy airport with the constant arrival and departure of the hummers. They swoop and dive about the yard giving us hours of entertainment. Attracting Hummingbirds is no longer an endeavour! More on Attracting Hummingbirds Attracting Hummingbirds  
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