Meet the Hummers

Sitting on Millie's chair which had
been put outdoors temporarily.

Richard has been feeding the birds again. Well, he never really stopped. But he's now feeding them to keep them safe from hunters. You see, dove season has begun. 

Doves on the barbeque pit? Not a little ironic, right?

For someone who was a hunter, he sure is working hard to keep his fat doves happy at home. With no intention of shooting them himself, of course.

Two of the four feeders at Will and Stacey's house

And then there are the hummers. We apparently live along the flight path of migrating hummingbirds. A couple of weeks ago we got a Facebook video from our oldest son. He's holding two hummingbird feeders in his hands while the birds are swarming him and eating from the feeders. 

Only six in this grainy picture.

Richard has been outdone! He is now filling the feeders several times a day. The one just outside the kitchen window needs sugar water at least four or five times daily. I think I heard him talking to them, but I won't swear to it. 

My job in all of this, you ask? Well, I get to enjoy the birds. Song birds regale me as I walk through the yard. The doves coo when I sit in my favorite chair in the shade. And I can stand at my kitchen window and enjoy the antics of those flighty little hummers. They are something to see. I take pictures upon pictures, but I can't seem to catch them doing something really funny. 

This feeder is just outside my kitchen
window. I can watch the hummers
incognito while standing at my sink.

I saw one stand on another's back and both drink from the same spout. A female somehow poked her beak into the crack along the top of the feeder where the lid is screwed on and flew around the feeder sucking the sugar water from the crack as she went. She did not break stride or have to right herself. How do they not get dizzy? I get vertiginous just watching them!

They are interesting little fliers. Too bad they've already begun moving to more southerly homes. Almost all those territorial males have left, so the females are gearing up for their flight. Richard has devious plans for next summer. Will and Stacey had better stock up on sugar!