Video: That's a lot of hummingbirds
There was a hummingbird convention outside of this Weather Network viewer's window in Saanich, B.C.
If you're wondering where all the hummingbirds are, it turns out they're meeting outside of Ed Pellizzon's home in Saanich, B.C.
Take a look at the video Pellizzon submitted to the Weather Network, featuring what looks like a hummingbird convention gathered around his four feeders on Sunday.
Hummingbirds typically migrate to warmer climates during the winter but they're year-round residents in southern B.C., thanks to the mild climate.
They're busy creatures that need to eat their weight in nectar every day. That's the equivalent of a 150-pound human eating more than 300 hamburgers a day.
WEATHER WON'T GET IN THE WAY OF EATING
In 2015, researchers at UC Berkely set out to determine how the tiny birds maintain their intense feeding schedule, regardless of the weather.
Their wings move faster than the human eye can see. In an effort to understand how these tiny birds contend with the weather, researchers placed them inside a wind tunnel.
Despite weighing less than a nickle, hummingbirds are able to eat even in harsh winds by keeping their heads perfectly still, leaving their bodies to twist and turn with the current.
Rain doesn't appear to slow them down either. In the video below, you can see the birds shake themselves dry, not unlike a wet dog:
This constant, daily battle doesn't just benefit the birds.
As they move from plant to plant, they spread pollen around and help new vegetation grow.
Outside of B.C., hummingbirds begin to arrive in Canada around May and will be present in the country until September.
