Why Do Hummingbirds Fly Up to Your Face?

How fascinating and entertaining it is when a hummingbird zips up to your face and hovers while staring at you quizzically! Engaging in this opportunity allows close contact with these beautiful vibrant creatures.

Have you ever questioned their behavior and wondered what the motives are behind these acts? Are they being aggressive or simply questioning their surroundings? If you are really inquiring, you have chosen the right article.

Why do hummingbirds fly up to your face?

Hummingbirds generally fly up to someone’s face because they are curious or investigating a situation. They are extremely inquisitive about their surroundings and enforce caution and safety in their territory. They also recognize, associate, and expect food from a homeowner when trained to be fed at a feeder.

Hummingbirds are truly remarkable creatures and have a fantastic memory to recall and retain certain patterns about their territory. They are attracted to anything new or out of place which will flag their attention and they will quickly zip over to investigate.

When a hummingbird invades your personal space it is calculating and assessing a situation that may be potentially hazardous to them. Let’s further explore the wonders of these beautiful birds!

Inquisitive Hummingbirds

Hummingbirds are naturally curious creatures and often explore a wide range of objects and activities in their environment that catch their attention when investigating new sources of food.

Their high energy levels and keen eyesight drive them to examine their surroundings to eliminate predators and maintain ownership of their ever-expanding territory of nectar-producing flowering plants and hummingbird feeders.

Objects that attract hummingbird curiosity include:

• The color red
• Water sources
• Human activity
• Other wildlife
• Unusual shapes

Red feeders with red bases and ports easily attract hummingbirds. The red bases on hummingbird feeders create the perfect bulls-eye attraction making it easier for a hummingbird to locate their alternate food supply.

The hummingbird feeder that works best for me are the First Nature 16 oz feeders.
During the summer, my hummingbirds empty them in about 36 hours making it difficult for bacteria or fungus to grow before the feeder is ready for cleaning and refilling.

The 2 pack is the best way to go as it helps with bullying behaviors, but can also take the pressure off of cleaning and refilling feeders for a continuous nectar supply for your hummingbirds.
In addition to being attractive to my hummingbirds, they are also inexpensive, durable, and easy to clean than other inexpensive hummingbird feeders.

I also use red glass hummingbird feeders with clear homemade nectar. Mine looks great and the hummingbirds enjoy it, however it is difficult to clean with the narrow base.
Find a style that has a wide base for easy cleaning.

For those hummingbird enthusiasts with less hummingbird traffic, I suggest the Nature’s Way 6oz Mason Jar feeder.
It is glass with a wide mouth and dishwasher safe on the top rack.
I would suggest buying 2 of these glass feeders for the same reasoning as above.

Read my article:
Forget Commercial Hummingbird Food, Try Making Homemade Nectar

Bright colors of red, orange, pink, and purple flower combinations attract the attention of a hummingbird in your backyard landscape .
Planting hummingbird nectar-producing plants with any variety of these hues such as salmon, fuchsia, and lilac will attract hummingbirds.

Read my article:
Attracting Hummingbirds: Do Hummingbirds Prefer Flowers or Feeders? 

Wearing red articles of clothing (such as a red shirt or baseball hat) you will find hummingbirds hover right in front of you to investigate and cure their curiosity.

Water sources such as fountains, bird baths, hoses, and sprinklers will gain the attention of a hummingbirds, especially in hot weather. They will bath or drink the residual liquid that splashes onto them.

Read my article:
How to Help Hummingbirds in Hot Weather

Human activity in the yard that can alter or change the landscape of food sources such as planting or watering flowers is another way where a hummingbird will check on the commotion and see what is happening with their environment.

I am always changing my backyard landscape to make it more attractive and interesting to hummingbirds that come and visit.
Whether it is planting nectar-producing flowering plants, propagating bugs in my compost, replacing the food in my hummingbird feeder, or even doing landscape maintenance, they always fly in to see what I am doing.

Feeding opportunities where nectar feeders are refilled or moved will absolutely catch their attention.
People moving through their territory will stand out to them signaling a change in their surroundings.

Other wildlife such as birds, bees, butterflies, and other animals near their feeding station or areas will attract hummingbird curiosity and make them investigate.

Female hummingbirds will defend their nest from predators or potential threats, such as cats or larger birds.

On numerous occasions, I have seen a California Towhee or a Dark-eyed Junco enter my backyard to bathe, eat, and drink near my Cigar plant (hummingbird favorite), which is near my hummingbird feeder.
I have witnessed them pause their activities from the feeder and slowly descend to the ground to curiously investigate and observe the other wildlife’s activities.

Unusual shapes will catch a hummingbird attention and intrigue them even though they are not food sources. They often investigate new objects in their environment such as items resembling flowers or feeders, such as ornaments, lights, or tools.

Hummingbirds are not dangerous at all to humans. If you are greeted by a suspicious hummingbird behaving oddly know you have wandered into their territory. Don’t worry for they are on a mission to identify unwanted threats and/or welcome in anticipation of the refilling of their feeding stations.

They Want Food

Hummingbirds are in constant search of food. They are quick aviators and expend tremendous amounts of energy on a daily basis to navigate in the air. Their entire life is spent searching and consuming food in order to survive. They will observe, scope and memorize the various flowers in their territorial area.

Hummingbirds can visit from 1,000 to 2,000 flowers daily in search of food and know how long it takes each flower to refill with nectar.

Their only downfall is that they require a diet of eating every ten minutes to maintain their rapid metabolism.

Because of their exceptional memory, they are able to recall every place where they discovered nectar during their spring migration north to breed and their fall migration south to their wintering homes.

Read my article:
Best Hummingbird Flowers – Discover What Kind of Blooms Hummingbirds Love

Do Hummingbirds Recognize Certain Humans?

Hummingbirds are hypervigilant observers of their available food sources. They examine and gather information from their environment and instantly notice who is refilling their feeders.
They become extremely familiar with your presence and eagerly await your arrival of a fresh batch of homemade nectar.

Hummingbirds are one of the smartest avian species.
For such a tiny bird, their hippocampus is five-times larger than a songbird and is embedded deep in the temporal lobe of the brain.
This important structure of the brain is capable of establishing learning and memory.
Few birds with this proportionate ratio have comparable levels of intelligence.

New research has shown that hummingbirds and some other bird species are actually able to recognize human friends who feed them regularly. They are able to identify and distinguish the differences between a threatening predator and someone who regularly provides them with food.

In fact, these birds are able to make visual and auditory differentiation of individuals. Therefore, hummingbirds are familiar with your voice, and repeated actions, and recognize your habitual routine. They will feel comfortable in your presence rather than being on high alert.

Read my article:
Do Hummingbirds Bond With Humans? Understanding Hummingbird Recognition

Providing clean and regularly refreshed hummingbird feeders contribute to the hummingbird’s needs of caloric and nutritional intake to preserve their prosperity and welfare.
Hummingbirds are always on the hunt to nourish their depleting fuel supply and will fly right into your face when demanding food!
They may even make chirping sounds to encourage you to refill the feeders.

Hummingbird enthusiasts will be pleasantly surprised to be greeted by friendly eager hungry visitors.

Are Hummingbirds Dangerous?

Hummingbirds are highly focused on finding food and pose no danger to humans.
If a hummingbird feels threatened in any way they are more likely to flee than fight in a confrontational situation.
There is a very small chance that a hummingbird will attack a human.

In a confrontation with a human, hummingbirds are more likely to fly away than engage in a fight if they feel endangered in any manner.
They are dangerous and aggressive towards each other when they engage in combat. They use their dagger-like beaks and sharp claws to protect and defend their food supply and territory.

The chances a hummingbird will attack a human are very slim. The only way to interfere is if one gets caught in the crosshairs of an aggressive territorial match, a courtship ritual, or a mother hummingbird protecting her young.

Decreasing Hummingbird Aggression

If you recognize a particularly aggressive hummingbird attacking other hummingbirds there are ways to deter their behavior.
To lower aggression levels in male hummingbirds in your surrounding area space out your feeders along with providing and rotating more hummingbird feeders in your yard.

Space out your feeders if you have several hummingbirds competing for attention and space in the same area. Feeders that are farther apart increases the physical challenge of the bullying hummingbird to protect their newfound terrain.

While they zip from feeder to feeder and expend energy at a rapid rate this allows the less aggressive hummingbirds the ability to eat quietly.
This, in turn, will lower the aggression of the more confrontational birds.

Provide and rotate more hummingbird feeders to ensure you are feeding a large number of hungry mouths. Not having enough feeders in your backyard will cause competition and territories that will be threatened. Have enough feeders to keep the hummingbirds in your area well-fed in addition to keeping the bullies at bay and occupied.

When all efforts of controlling aggression are unsuccessful, the simple answer may be the “birds and the bees”. Mother nature and hormones are always hard at work and no human can ever interfere.
When two male hummingbirds are vying for the attention of a female, no spacing of feeders or increasing the number of feeders will have an effect on aggressive behaviors during the mating season.

Read my article:
Managing Bully Birds at Feeders

Conclusion

Hummingbirds are naturally curious birds. They constantly question their surroundings and their number one goal every day is continually searching for food. Hummingbirds are interested in everything from a local intruder to discovering a potential mate in their space.

They begin recognizing you as a reliable food supply and may buzz up to your face to greet you while trying to be the first one to a refilled feeder. Hummingbirds are extremely food-oriented but are not dangerous to humans.

Inquisitive hummingbirds are not harmful to humans. Their curiosity simply wants to examine, investigate and secure their bountiful food supply along with attracting potential mates.

Happy Hummingbird Watching!