Hummingbirds!

I'll always remember the first time I actually saw one up close.  I was on vacation in San Diego and had a terrace off the bedroom.  The view of the golf course was blocked by this amazing tree, full of deep pink flowers in the shape of trumpets.


I was standing within reaching distance of the tree when this hummingbird flew right in front of me.  It startled me just a bit, I thought it was a big bug.  When I realized what it was, I could only stare at it and wonder at it's tiny size and beautiful colors that changed as it moved.  Like a flying rainbow.


It gave me a glance and went to the business of feeding.  I watched for a few min. as it went flower to flower, never farther away than I could reach.  So I did just that.  I put out my finger and it actually landed and fed while resting on my finger.  I could barely feel it's weight.  When it finsihed with that flower, it buzzed over to another, my finger followed and it rested.  We did this for about half an hour, the bird either got tired of me or had had enough and left.


That happended years ago, so imagine my surprise to see them in my yard buzzing around the flowers.  I immediately got some feeders for them and now have more hummingbirds visiting than I know what to do with.  They're skittish and won't land on my outstretched hand.  They actually just calmed down enough to allow me to take pictures of them.

The next group of photos show a clash of tiny titans!  A yellow jacket and a hummingbird at the feeders always causes a stir.  In this set, the bee is actually chasing the bird.

They're a bit fuzzy, but the hummingbird wanted no parts of that bee and buzzed around the feeder so fast.  I think they finally settled on being out of sight of each other.  As the saying goes, out of sight, out of mind.  :)  They stayed on opposite sides of the feeder and there was peace, although the hummingbird kept an eye out for the bee in case it tried anything.

I always thought of them as gentle little birds.  Not the case.  They're like tiny kamakazi fighters. They will stake out their territory and I pity the poor hummingbird that wanders into it.  They dive bomb each other so badly that we have to duck constantly, or move off the deck for fear of being skewered!  To see 10 of them flying wildly around 2 feeders is a little unnerving.  All I can imagine is being stuck with their beaks, which are long and pointy.  One good jab in the eye or face and you're done for!  I've since moved the feeders away from the deck and they're spread out around the yard.  I keep just one near the deck to snap pictures from.