a week ago I spotted a baby hummingbird zooming from blossom to blossom, resting between sips of nectar on a nearby branch.
hummingbirds like twiggy dead branches, especially in high places to survey the lay of the land, food, friend and foe. they also groom their beaks on dry woody surfaces.
hummingbirds are an important sentinel. what a happy event to see a new addition to the family, the environment being in a constant state of degradation.
hummingbirds like nesting in undisturbed, secluded shrubby trees, bushy hedges. if you see them darting in and out, it’s likely the location of their well camouflaged home base.
hummingbirds only use their nest once, sometimes the eggshell remnants remain. it is interesting to examine an abandoned nest, the materials used ranging from dry moss, fine leaves & twigs, downey feathers, spider webbing, even dryer lint and man-made fibers tightly woven with a smoothly finished interior.
once a nest was constructed outside my window, an opportunity to spy on the babies in the nest. it didn’t take long for their tiny heads to bob above the rim of the nest graduating to awkwardly perching beside the nest, mom observing nearby, then disappearing on their great adventure.
hummingbirds depend on readily available nectar as their primary food source. their little bodies consuming the human equivalent of 15,000 calories daily, their heart beating 1,260 times per minute wings whirling 80 times per second. availability of flowering plants are especially important in the winter season.
hummingbirds will also consume aphids, mosquitoes, gnats for protein but the quick energy source of nectar is essential.
hummingbirds love tubular, bright flowers like those of succulents, kalanchoe, fuschias and salvia are all favorites.
flowers in hanging baskets are ideal, out of reach of cats’ sport hunting range, climbing & high jump abilities.
some hummingbirds migrate seasonally, a bird tagged in Florida was once tracked to Alaska for the summer and back.
hummingbirds are also extremely appreciative of the gentle swishy shower of a sprinkler or garden hose indirect misting to groom their delicate plumage of dust and mites in the heat of summer, often rolling out their long tongue like a carpet to slurp a quick drink. lasting bonds of friendship are created this way.
~ A blessed March 31st Easter to everyone ~
…may you always feel at peace in kitten’s secret garden…
Hummingbirds are amazing! Beautiful 😻 flowers!
15,000 calories a day …. Wow!!! Man in all our technology can not yet duplicate the humming birds amazing ability to maneuver.
I had a very insistent hummingbird buzz me in the winter on my back porch. It was all around my head trying to get my attention. My nephew had just passed. Knowing my flamboyant
Nephew, thought yes this was his way of saying goodbye uncle.
Hummingbird in Jamie Sam’s medicine cards
JOY
“Without an open and loving heart, you can never taste the nectar and pure bliss of life”
God Bless🙏🩷🌷
I thought cats were a hummingbirds mortal enemy?