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Friday, July 27, 2007

Hummingbird Ride

This little male Ruby-throated Hummingbird surveys his kingdom from the top of our 'Great Blue Heron' weathervane. He watches our yard and tries to chase any other male hummingbirds from the feeders. We outwit him by placing feeders and hummingbird flowers throughout our property, some where he can't see them from his perch. Thus, other hummers can sneak in and enjoy.

Him sitting on a heron reminds us of the myth that "hummingbirds migrate by riding on the back of geese." Hummingbirds migrate on their own, flying high over mountains (we have seen them migrating while we have been standing on mountains hawk-watching) and they cross the Gulf of Mexico to their wintering areas.

Speaking of hummingbirds, we continue to get responses to our recent post asking "Are Hummingbird Numbers Down", click here.

Enjoy your weekend. Clean your hummingbird feeders often in this hot weather and enjoy the hummers.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Wow! I've been flipping through your blog for an hour now and I am amazed at what a beautiful wildlife habitat you guys have created for all different creatures.

Keep up the brilliant work!

Justin D.
Tennessee

Anonymous said...

This is such a wonderful photo of the hummingbird! How could I not comment and your more than perfect post!

Julie Zickefoose said...

We've got the same heron weathervane,and we love to catch the hummingbirds and bluebirds sitting on its bill and wingtips. Hard to get such good light as you did, though. As always, the photos are fabulous!

Lillian Stokes said...

What a coincidence, Julie, that you have the same weathervane. But then again, not too much of a surprise, since birders gravitate towards all things "birdie", when it comes to decorating their yards, homes, and even themselves.