The Hummingbird appeared in our window for the first time this spring. We were sitting there reading the morning paper when Jilda exclaimed "He's Back!!!" He hovered effortlessly and looked at us sternly as if to say WHERE'S MY FOOD!!!!! Jilda scrambled off the couch and to the pantry to fetch the raw sugar and ran some filtered water in the mixing bowl. I hustled out to the side porch where we store the feeders. I always clean them in the fall when the birds fly south because we've been through this drill before. This morning I rinsed out the feeders and Jilda poured it full of the nectar they love. I hung the feeders inches from our window and then went back inside and waited.We were not disappointed because a few moments later he came back and had a long refreshing drink. He flitted up on a nearby branch and rested his weary wings. We went back to our paper and later he flew back to the center window again and hovered there for a while as if to say "thanks guys, I needed that."
In the coming weeks when blackberry winter is history, the rest of the fam will wander up and make entering and exiting our house a chore because these little critters are serious about eating. If you walk by at an inopportune time, you'll most surely get buzzed. GET OUT OF HERE FREAK, CAN'T YOU SEE I'M TRYING TO EAT!!!! Sorry little guy, we'll apologize and then move quickly in or out of the door.
Hummingbirds are one of summer's gifts for which we are thankful. I borrowed the graphic above from http://www.mnich-design.co.uk/jan-mnich/n1hummingbirds.html
Please don't rat me out.
Hi Rick,
ReplyDeleteWe have four feeders in our yard, and it seems as though I'm always filling them. When the young from nearby nests are fledged, there may be 7 or 8 young trying to get at the three spots on one feeder. It's a riot to see them posturing and discussing who was there first. Eventually, one will take on the role of bully and chase the others away to a different feeder. Also, there is a Flicker who lands on a feeder and takes his/her nourishment; it took a while to find the best way to perch, which is to hold onto the main hook with one foot and grab the perch with the other. I'll post a photo of one of our feeders on my blog.