Amazing Facts About Hummingbirds - Educational Videos For Kids

Hi Junior Rangers! Welcome back to the Ranger Zach Show. Today I decided to take a little trip to Rogers Gardens in Newport Beach, California to buy some very special plants for my garden. And why are these plants so special? Well I'm glad you asked. Some plants are special at attracting certain types of animals and I want to observe these animals humming around my backyard. Can you guess what I'm trying to attract? I'll give you a hint, but you can only use your observation skills, deer ears, to help you figure it out. Are you ready? Here it goes. Close your eyes. Do you got it? That's right! I'm trying to attract hummingbirds. So come along with me, Ranger Zach, as we learn about the tiny yet mighty hummingbirds. Come along with Ranger Zach. It's the Ranger Zach Show. Hummingbirds are fascinating little creatures and there's a few things that you can do to encourage them to stop by your house. But to understand how to attract hummingbirds, it's first helpful to understand a little bit more about them. Hummingbirds get their name from the humming noise that their wings make from beating super fast. They can flap their wings close to 75 beats per second and reach speeds up to 60 miles per hour. Now that's fast! There are a few things that help these birds move so quickly. Hummingbirds are the smallest bird on the planet and they only weigh about as much as a penny or a single sheet of paper. Their light weight helps them fly quickly with ease. Next, their feet are very small and actually pretty weak and while they can use their feet to perch on branches, they can't really use them to walk. Now this may seem like a bad thing for a hummingbird, but their tiny feet actually help keep their body weight down allowing them to fly super fast. Now the last thing that helps a hummingbird move so quickly is how they flap their wings and they do this by using a figure eight type pattern. Are you ready for your ranger's act fun fact? Well here it is. Hummingbirds are the only bird in the world that can fly forwards, backwards, sideways, and even sometimes upside down and they can go from their top speed to a hover in the blink of an eye making them the top gun flyers of the bird world and you can hit the brakes and fly right by. You're dangerous. I feel the need the need for speed. Hummingbirds flight speed isn't the only fast thing about these little creatures. They also have the fastest metabolism in the animal kingdom which means they have to eat a lot. So what's on the menu for these little birds with big appetites? Well insects, spiders, and of course nectar and they can visit 2,000 flowers a day using their long needle-like beak and tongue to drink up nectar. And while nectar smells sweet and delicious, hummingbirds don't follow their nose to flowers. They're attracted by color. Can you guess what a hummingbird's favorite color is? If you guessed red, you're right. Let's use our observation skills hawk eyes to look at some of the hummingbird's favorite flowers. All of these flowers attract hummingbirds. What do they all have in common? Well it looks like they're all brightly colored and most of them are shaped like a trumpet which is the perfect shape for a hummingbird's long beak. Using our observation skills while watching hummingbirds can be a lot of fun. I think I'll take home a few of these native plants back to my garden at the ranger station. Let's head there now and learn how we can take care of hummingbirds at home. Hi junior rangers, welcome back to the ranger station. If you enjoyed observing those hummingbirds with me today, here are two things that you can do to help attract hummingbirds to your house. The first thing that you can do is visit a local nursery and buy some flowers that help attract hummingbirds. Look for flowers that are brightly colored and shaped like a trumpet. I picked these up at my trip to Rogers Gardens in Newport Beach, California. Thanks Rogers Gardens for my beautiful flowers. If you don't have time to plant your own flowers, you could also hang up a hummingbird feeder and you can fill it with your very own homemade nectar. Just use four parts water to one part sugar and don't use any food coloring because this could harm hummingbirds. And make sure you change out your nectar every couple of days so it stays nice and fresh. Now I know what you're thinking. You are wondering what does nectar taste like anyways? Well because you're making your homemade nectar with the help of an adult, now is a great opportunity to use your observation skill lizard tongue to give nectar a taste. What do you think it tastes like? If you followed my recipe, it should taste nice and sweet, which is exactly why hummingbirds love to drink it. And that's two things that you can do to help attract hummingbirds to your house. Now let's do the ranger roundup. Well hey there Pearl. Are you ready to do the ranger roundup with me? Well okay. Today's question was sent in by Junior Ranger Summer. Great question Summer. An elephant's tusks are evolved from elephant's teeth and they're used for all sorts of reasons like lifting heavy objects, digging holes, or stripping bark off trees. An elephant will even rest its trunk on its tusks if it gets tired. I hope that answers your question. Now let's do the Junior Ranger Challenge. This week's Junior Ranger Challenge is a two-parter. Head outside and practice doing the hummingbird. Do the hummingbird. Do the hummingbird. And work on those figure eight arm movements. And while you're outside, be on the lookout for any hummingbirds humming around your neighborhood. And pay careful attention to see what kind of flowers they're attracted to. And you can tag me in a picture of you doing the hummingbird at the Rangers Act show on Instagram for a chance to be featured as one of our Junior Rangers of the week. And we have other news Junior Rangers. Today is the final episode of the Rangers Act show season one. But we had many great adventures this season. So make sure you go back and check those out. And if you're still looking for new Rangers Act content, head on over to patreon.com slash the Rangers Act show. And that way you can have access to exclusive content every month. Be on the lookout for the Rangers Act show season two coming to you this fall. And until then Junior Rangers, there's a world of adventure right outside your door. So get out there and go explore. This is Rangers Act, Pearl the Squirrel, and the whole Rangers Act show crew over and out.