hmmmmm - Where Responsible Reptile Keepers Connect!

JuliusSqueezer · #1 (**permalink**) 08-29-2008, 05:48 AM

Ever been on an munchkin airbase? That's what it's like around here. At any given time during daylight hours, these little humming birds are buzzing everywhere in numbers impossible to count because they don't stay still long. They aren't shy at all either. They are constantly buzzing right in my face, over my head. They just don't care. They are anything but peaceful like you might think they would be if you weren't familiar with them. They constantly fight or chase each other from the feeders. If there was such a thing as hummingbird police, they would have their little jails full of domestic violence cases. Watching them in action..I can see where the fairy myths came from. It's kind of magical/spiritual to have so many buzzing all around all day. I'm guessing 30 or so but who knows? Mostly it's just females left. I've seen one or two males and that's it. Early spring, the females show up first..a month or so later, the males catch up and the turmoil begins. Then in the fall, the males disappear first. These little buggers are migratory birds. Their range...Canada to Somewhere deep in South America. Hard to imagine these tiny little guys traveling so far. We have to take the feeders down in September or else some will stick around too long and mess up their migration. Anyway, here's a couple shots of a female. These were taken right at dusk. If they seem a little not so sharp, please keep in mind, it's like catching a bullet in flight. Stopping the wings at dusk (low light) was hard. Don't know why I bothered either. I like the blurred wings better anyway. I'll keep trying them at different times of the day and see what I come up with.