Hummingbird Adventures 11

We sure had a lot of fun on the last page of this thread. I will be continuing to share photos I took last Sunday, since I got so many that day, and I was out of town most of the week. I hope that you will enjoy the continuing adventures of my backyard friends. If you missed any photos, this is where we came from:

http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/995753

I can't wait to see what new adventures we will be sharing with our hummer friends. Please feel free to share your stories and photos with us. It's neat to hear what other peoples' hummers are up to! Me I'm still trying to figure out where the nests are.

Walk In Beauty!
SingingWolf

Somebody was really thirsty!

Time to go!

A BCH sneaks in while he thinks I'm not looking.

Something startled him!

Those are not the whites of his eye, but appear to be a small patch of white feathers. Hmm.

From the other side.

Our Lady Zippy!

Right now I'm about ready to call this one Scruffy, due to her eyebrows and harried look.

Another BCH.

Think this is Sweetie Pie. Looks like she has a spot under her chin.

Another photo of Scruffy.

How many Hummers? Where is Zoom? LOL!

Here is a pair of hummers.

Zoom back on guard duty.

Scruffy was a frequent visitor that afternoon.

A face ya gotta love!

Sweetie Pie is perched right above my head!

Maybe this one should be called Silver Zoom!

Or this one where is flying right at me with his tongue sticking out! ^_^

Zoom & Zippy sitting on the feeder!

This is one that really didn't want her photo taken. I had to sneak up and take it through the banana stalks.

I'm a leaf. I'm a leaf!

There that hummer is looking out of the gh. I wonder if it is making fun of the crows. I've seen the hit the outside trying to get in, but they don't hit the inside when trying to leave. Odd little critters. We are all caught up for now.
Doubtful I'll get any decent photos today. Overcast, the hummers are still mad I let the feeder run dry, because my ES couldn't be bothered to make them some food. Oh well, at least nothing died or disappeared.
WIB,
SW

Great pictures SW, you have so many!!!

I finally have two hanging around, but very shy. If I move at all they're gone in a flash. One of them buzzed me tonight, that was funny. And I can hear one clicking outside my window right now, can't find it so I don't know what it's after. Sun's beginning to set, so they'll be gone soon.

I'd like to know what that clicking is for, too. We have one male that does that for hours - sitting on his perch near the feeder. Maybe just a sign of ownership?

I heard one doing while it was eating. In between sips. LOL

Well you know Zippy chitters at me. The guys do the rusty hinge sound, (no more torturing fairies, jokes), while chasing away the competition, and now I've got another who makes a noise like Zoom, only it's a different pitch when he flies.
I was goofing off last Sunday. It was a perfect day for taking photos, and I didn't have much energy, gave me a perfect excuse to just sit and rest. I had no idea how many photos I'd taken until I came in to download them onto my computer.
I'm all caught up now. Except for the ones I got yesterday. LOL! Not too many, as they were still mad because their feeder had gone dry, and it was foggy all day. I guess it rained enough to pock the dust while we were gone. Not enough to clean off the top of the gh though. Rats! The Christmas Trees in the field are looking kinda brown too. Need a good rain to wash off the dirt! At least they are done with the painting for now and I can put the patio back in order.
I like this photo I got of the Purple Black Chinned Hummer. He's the one who was waiting to tell me off when I got home. LOL!

Not as clear but you can see purple if you look. I was really surprised because it was cloudy, to get any color!

Different view, same hummer.

Zoom had to make an appearance!

Zoom feeding.

The purple BCH, snuck in when he thought I wasn't looking.
That's all I got for now, I'll have some more photos later. I'm going to see what they are up to out in the B.fly/h.bird garden.
WIB,
SW

This message was edited Jun 7, 2009 10:55 AM

SW, look at the second 11:52 photo (Post #6654688). See the bottom of the feathers at his throat? They are round. Are these individual feathers or a group of feathers resulting in a bottom-edge round? (not stated very well, sorry)

Linda

Had a hummer emergency tonight. Our neighbors came over with a baby hummer they found under one of their (many, many) trees. We could not find the nest. He was a lively little fellow, I think very close to fledging, if he hasn't already. Surprisingly, there were no hummer buzzings of heads while we were looking. I would think mama is nearby. Knowing the rule about not taking babies far from where you find them, we put him up in a tree, wedging the little 'bug box' their daughter had him in securely, with the door taped open and some leaves and grasses for a little warmth. Then I got a feeder and hung it where hopefully the mother would see it and come investigate.

Did I do right? Didn't want to take him away from the area. I could feed him, but then what? I'll be worrying all night. :-(

Linda,
Going back and looking at some of the other photos of Zoom it appears that when he is relaxed his neck feathers form the rounded scallop you noticed. They are not individual round feathers, but a series of feathers that created the rounded off effect.
Now my head hurts. Just joking, and I understood what you meant, no apology necessary. They don't have individual neck feathers that big. Their wing and maybe their tail feathers might be that big, but not their necks. They'd be shaped differently any how. Anyway, it's a pretty effect. If you see if on your Hummer friend it means he is calm and happy.
It was pretty overcast today, and I didn't take as many photos. I got a couple of good ones, several mediocre ones, and some down right worthless blurs.
Here's one now!

KC,
Did it have feathers or baby down? You know the difference. Yes, you did the right thing. Check on the little bugger in the morning.
Does he have anything to perch on near the feeder? The babies appreciate it. It's like they can't chew gum and fly.
If babies are found on the ground it is usually best to leave them there, unless their demise is imminent due to cats, dogs, crows, etc. In which case KC did exactly the right thing. Usually, even though you didn't see the stealth parents, they were there watching the little fellow. I have often wonder what frequency they hear. It seems like we don't hear half of what they say. DH can't hear them when I do.
Mama will find him. Hummers make good Mama's. Even if she doesn't come back, the baby will be okay, just check tomorrow to be sure it's feeding. It may have been it's first flight and it landed on the ground. Don't be surprised to find the box empty and no sign of the baby. It might have figured out how to fly.
You did good, Kathleen. Explain it to the neighbors daughter if she is upset about an empty box. Keep us posted. (I can't believe you didn't get photos!)
Oh, speaking of which, here is another one. At least this one isn't sticking out it's tongue at me. LOL!
A speck of Color!

One of the BCH's came by.

Zoom was not very patient today. He was in a big hurry.

Isn't this BCH a beaut!