This is a common foraging behavior for Broad-tailed Hummingbirds (and
perhaps others) -- feeding on insects over ponds and streams. I've observed
females doing this most often. They are really good at it and in certain
conditions they do a lot of it, so it seems to work well as a foraging
strategy. It is, as you say, remarkable to watch.
David Suddjian
Littleton, CO
On Fri, Jun 26, 2026 at 8:44 PM 'Ron Bolton' via Colorado Birds <
<cobirds...> wrote:
> I was streamside at the St Vrain River, which was running quite strongly.
> I observed a hummingbird perhaps hawking for insects on the wing over the
> stream surface.
> Intuitively this seems like an inefficient way to get calories. But it was
> remarkable to observe.
>
> Comments?
> Ron Bolton
> Berthoud.
>
>
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