Chescobob-- Once a male defines his territory he will protect it against all comers other males and even bees. He may have just tried to run the bee out but realized it was injured. Hummers will feed on small insects, knats, mosquitoes, small spiders and such. They use the nectar as fuel to fly and find these protein rich snacks which they need. One of the fun ways to watch a hummer up close is to buy a window feeder with suction cups to attach to your window. Once they get used to you being there they wont hesitate to feed while you are on the other side of the window long as you dont do a lot movement. I sit at my pc and have two feeders on that window and the hummers come and go at those feeders all day long. Thats not happening much yet this year since there are not enough hummers yet.

alii--- In hummer migration when they head back south many try to cross the gulf of mexico which is a 600mi flight nonstop and some cant make it, so can you imagine how they might cross the atlantic to get to the UK. seagull73--- First of all here in eastern half of US we only see the rubythroat and in the spring the males arrive first soon followed by the females. I have seen some dramatic displays of courtship from a small 6-7ft U shaped dance to a U spanning a distance of 30-40 across and high. Ive been told by banders that the more serious courtship dance is when they do a horizontal side to side 1ft or less distance right in front of the female , this usually means they will mate soon after although not neccarily at that point but maybe a short distance away from that spot. I have also seen males actually drive the female to the ground. Personally I think this is the serious one. Hope this helps a little

Very interesting! Thanks for sharing Warren.

Sweeby and colorcrazy, since you are new to the discussion, and raise some important points, I think I should clarify a few things. According to the wife, the husband has not only not stood up for the wife, but in fact has been completely brainwashed by the inlaws. For example, before the marriage, there were no issues with finances between the couple. Both of them are responsible money spenders and they both were comfortable with each other's habits. After the mother in law visited, she continued to comment on how the wife was spending money on her own 'expensive' clothes whereas when she went to buy baby furniture for the baby, she was adamant about setting a budget. She also negotiated with the furniture store for an additional discount. Someone like you or me would admire this, but the mother in law commented that this "stinginess" was missing when buying a Banana Republic sweater for herself. The wife told me that her rationale had always been that the baby grew out of all her sizes - and so the wife was not comfortable buying really expensive accessories, whereas for herself she did not mind it. After the inlaws left, the husband started to criticise each and every action of the wife and began to complain that she was selfish and had two standards etc. Overall, according to her, the husband/son actually began to think with his mother's brain. He really seems to have no backbone and seems to be completely controlled by his mother. She feels bitter because she suspects that he purposely left them out of their dating phase and ushered them in when the child was born. Also, the wife is a close friend of mine; I do know a lot of stuff -- but I refrain from writing about everything obviously because I feel I need to discuss it with her. Regarding counselling, the husband has refused to seek counselling.