Friday, August 21, 2009

Sorry, no pictures of the fight…

I just watched a hummingbird fight. Although I’m sure they were VERY serious, I thought it was so cute. Miniature combat! Hummingbird A (I’ll call her Madge) was enjoying a lovely brunch from the flowers in our hanging basket, shifting every now & then to the buffet on the lattice fence. Hummingbird B (Ruth) thought that looked pretty yummy & decided to join Madge. And it was on! Madge chased Ruth off & came back. Then Ruth decided she was no pushover & went for the basket again. I can just imagine the conversation as Madge chased Ruth around the yard – “why you upstart whippersnapper!” I have no evidence that Madge is older than Ruth, other than my not very agile imagination. That and the fact that at this stage of my life I like to think age trumps youth. Heh.

I have never seen so much hummingbird activity at one time! Drinking, diving, swooping, even (gasp!) sitting for all of 5 seconds on a fence post. Unfortunately my gimpy arm & I were no match for all the swoopiness & I couldn’t get a picture. I took pictures of the flowers instead.



What a blessing on a beautiful Friday morning in Ohio.

14 comments:

  1. They are so funny really. I have watched three or four hummingbirds all trying to run the others off a shrup in full bloom that is as high as the eaves of my house! Plenty for all. They spend so much time chasing each other off that no one gets to eat.

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  2. You're right, it was probably quite serious from the perspective of the participants. Still, two creatures, not even close to being the size of teacups, fighting over flower nectar?

    Doesn't it seem like Thumbelina should have been reffing the proceedings?

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  3. Because of my Gram, I love hummingbirds. I must have spent hours on her porch watching them fuss and fight over the feeders and flowers in her front yard. Unaware that hummingbirds could even exist in the desert, I saw one the other day and got all teary eyed.

    Thanks for sharing.

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  4. Thanks for the uplifting post today, I needed it :) I love hummingbirds! I was just thinking this morning I need to refill my feeder since soon they'll be making their way back down here for the cooler months.

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  5. Hummingbirds are amazing creatures. I'm always flabbergasted when I see them stand still for a second. They are so tiny it's hard to believe they can hold themselves up on such fragile little legs. Have you ever had the pleasure of seeing a hummingbird's nest? Their nests are incredibly small, delicate, and beautiful.

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  6. How lucky you are to have these amazing little birds in your gardens. They are unknown in the UK but I have a friend in Birmingham Alabama who sends me a few photos on occasion; he seems to have many of these little wonders in his 'yard', as he calls it.

    And those long, sharpish beaks! Wow.

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  7. We have two feeders in our backyard along with two hanging flower baskets, so we get a lot of hummingbirds coming back there all the time. If I am standing there watering the flower baskets the hummingbirds will go to one of the feeders to eat and are within a few feet of me. And as long as I do not disturb them they will stay there for a while eating. I am usually amazed that they will come so close to me. I could almost reach out my arm and touch them. They are so beautiful and graceful and I just love watching them. We too get some of them that fight. But they never seem to hurt each other and it is fun to watch them dance around each other so much.

    Hope all is well and you are feeling better. Glad the shirt helped and the icepack. You will really need the icepack when you start PT. I got off easier yesterday than I thought because they got some new patients and so I did not get the neck and spine worked on, but I was still on those machines. Which are a workout on their own and it is the sets of repitions that get you. The more you do the harder they get. So back to the ice pack I go.

    God bless.

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  8. I love watching hummingbirds too. Once, when they got too violent about who owned the feeder, I decided to put another feeder on the other side of the house. It only made things worse; they buzzed up and over the house constantly worried that someone might sip out of the feeder unchallenged. Good thing they're so little, the crazy buggers.

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  9. Sadly, as PhilipH said, we don't have these lovely little things here in the UK, but thanks for sharing yours with us.

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  10. Beautiful delicate color here. I just found your blog from Amy Uncensored. The tiny bursts of color...so captivating. <3

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  11. Please don't become the Michael Vick of hummingbirds.

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  12. I have several hummingbirds in my house (including on my study wallpaper), but I never see them in the garden. How nice!

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  13. Oh no Linda - no chance! I would never CHARGE people to watch them fight! Of course, it's really more that they chase each other around - I didn't see anyone actually catch anyone...

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  14. I traveled to Ohio with your post and pictures :) Hope you are having a lovely weekend.

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