Monday, September 12, 2005

Bird Watching

Well, we must have gotten the mix right this time. We refilled the hummingbird feeder yesterday and joked that all we had to do is stand there and watch them come to the feeder. We weren't far off; this morning, there are two hummingbirds fighting over it! First, one of them ate a lot more than usual, and then he sat on a nearby branch, which you can see in the photo. He sat there for a while, cleaning his beak on the branch like he was sharpening a knife, and preening his feathers. All of a sudden, he saw another one and chased it away. A few minutes later, the second guy came back and drank a lot of nectar, and then he sat on the same branch as the other one had, watching for crows or hawks every time he heard one. They have been drinking and fighting for a while now. Hmmm... sounds like college. Anyway, they like to fly up to our window and look at us face to face, so we have a couple of photos of that, too.

Hummingbird sitting on a branch
Hummingbird #1 sitting on a branch

Hummingbird taking a drink
Hummingbird #2 taking a drink

Hummingbird flying in to see the human
Flying in to see the giant human

Hummingbird posing for the camera
Posing for the camera

Web sites say that these should be ruby-throated hummingbirds, but if they're female or young males, they don't have any red in their feathers, so it's difficult to tell. These don't. The other way to tell is to look at their wing shape and size, which we will do the next time one alights near the window.