Skip to content
Grow In Backyard
Wild Birds

Why Do Hummingbirds Fly So Close to Me? Five Real Reasons

A hummingbird hovering inches from your face is assessing you, inspecting your clothes, or telling you the feeder is empty. None of it is aggression.

By Zakaria 3 min read Save to Pinterest — opens Pinterest in a new tab
A male Anna's hummingbird hovering face-on with its magenta gorget catching the light
Photo: Veronika_Andrews, Pixabay Content License, via Pixabay
On this page

A hummingbird holding position a foot from your face is assessing you. It is one of five things, none of them aggression, and the bird is in no danger from the encounter — nor are you.

The five reasons

What the behaviour usually means
What it looks likeWhat it is
Hovers, holds position, staresAssessment — threat, obstacle or food?
Zips to your shirt, hat or phone, leavesColour inspection — red checked like a flower
Hovers near you and the feederThe feeder is empty, dirty or moved
Repeated dives, loud, same spotNest defence. Back off a few metres
Follows you around the garden brieflyCuriosity about something new

Why a bird this small is not nervous of you

Hovering costs a hummingbird less than you would think, and flight gives it an escape it trusts completely. It can accelerate out of reach faster than anything in the garden can move. That confidence is why a bird will come close enough to inspect a person when a sparrow would not.

The aggression is real — just not toward you

Hummingbirds are famously combative. A male will chase off other hummingbirds, and sometimes birds many times his size, from a feeder he considers his.

You are not competition. A person near a feeder gets assessed; another hummingbird near it gets chased.

The red clothing thing is real

Many of the flowers hummingbirds feed from are red, and the response to red is strong enough that a red shirt, a red hat or a red phone case gets investigated. The bird checks, finds no nectar, and leaves. That is the whole event.

Red clothing yes, red nectar never

The feeder itself can be red — most are, and that is fine. The liquid should be clear. Plain white sugar, one part to four parts water, and nothing else. Dye serves no purpose the feeder’s own colour does not already serve.

When it is a nest

A female defending a nest will make close, fast, noisy passes at anything large nearby — people, cats, dogs. It is a bluff, and it works because it is startling.

  • Back off five or six metres and it stops immediately
  • Look up before you assume otherwise. Nests are walnut-sized, bound with spider silk and camouflaged with lichen, usually on a thin down-sloping branch
  • Leave the area alone for a few weeks rather than trying to work around it
  • Keep cats in, which matters far more to the outcome than anything else you do

What to do when one hovers in front of you

Nothing. Stay still and let it finish.

The bird is working something out and will be gone in seconds. Flinching or swatting is the only way the encounter goes badly, and it goes badly for the bird — a three-gram animal and a moving hand is not an even contest.

If it keeps happening near the feeder, go and look at the feeder. In hot weather, nectar can ferment in two days, and a bird hovering pointedly beside an empty one is the most useful reminder you will get.

Common questions

Why do hummingbirds fly right up to my face?

Most often they are assessing you. A hovering bird holding position a foot away is working out whether you are a threat, an obstacle or a food source, and hovering is cheap enough for a hummingbird that a few seconds of inspection costs it little. The other common triggers are red or bright clothing, which gets checked like a flower, and an empty feeder, where a bird that knows the routine will hover near whoever usually fills it.

Are hummingbirds dangerous or aggressive to people?

No. They are intensely aggressive to each other and will chase off birds many times their size from a feeder, but a human is not competition and not prey. A bird hovering close has no weapon worth worrying about — the bill is for reaching into flowers, not for defence. People are occasionally startled into flinching, which is the only real risk, and that is to the bird if you swat.

Does wearing red attract hummingbirds?

It gets you inspected. Hummingbirds investigate red and other bright colours because many of the flowers they feed from are red, and a red shirt, hat or phone case is checked the same way. The inspection ends as soon as the bird works out there is no nectar. It is worth knowing that red dye in feeder nectar is a different matter entirely and should never be used — the feeder itself can be red, the liquid should be clear.

Why does a hummingbird hover and stare at me near the feeder?

Usually because the feeder is empty, dirty or has been moved. Hummingbirds track their feeding route closely enough to notice a change, and a bird that finds the feeder gone will hover where it used to be, and often near the person who normally fills it. It is not a request in any conscious sense, but the behaviour is reliable enough that experienced feeders treat it as one.

Will a hummingbird attack me if I am near its nest?

It may dive at you, and it is harmless. A female defending a nest will make close passes at anything large that comes near, including people and cats, relying on noise and speed rather than any ability to hurt. Back off a few metres and it stops. Nests are tiny, lichen-covered and easy to miss, so if a bird is repeatedly diving at you in one spot, assume there is one above you and move.

Backyard Weekly

Know what to plant, week by week

Join the weekly email for seasonal jobs, fixes for what is going wrong, and gear worth buying.

Not ready to subscribe? The planting calendar is free and needs no email.

By subscribing you agree to our privacy policy. Grow In Backyard will never sell your address.

Keep reading