Sharp sweetness

Hummingbird
stay for a fractional sharp
sweetness, and's gone, can't take
more than that.

Denise Levertov (b. 1923), Anglo-U.S. poet. "A Turn of the Head."

The Ruby-Throated Hummingbird is the most commonly recognized for its iridescent feathering, and dazzling ruby-red throat.
The color though, is not all it seems.

Hummingbirds get their unusual coloring from the fact that not all feathers are pigmented, or colored. In the duller colors, including the Rufous Hummingbird, the brown hue is actual pigment in the feather structure.

In the Ruby-Throated variety, light refracting through the feather segments, breaking it up much like a prism would. Only certain levels of color will be seen by the human eye, and that color will change with every movement of the feather, or angle of the light striking it.
Hummingbirds are very fast, traveling at an average 25 miles per hour, with wingbeats of anywhere from 10-15 per second in the Giant Hummingbird, up to 80 per minute by the Amethyst Woodstar. The ruby-throated hummer falls into the middle range, at about 53 beats per second.

To sustain such rapid and prolonged activity, the hummingbird's heart must beat accordingly. For birds that are hot, or sleepy, that can be as low as 50-180 beats per minute, but a heart rate of an amazing 1360 beat per minute has been recorded in a Blue-Throated Hummingbird.

The hummingbird is so small, that an insect, the Praying Mantis is its natural enemy.

They are the only bird that can hover, and fly backwards as well as straight up or down.

Hummingbirds can't walk. Hummingbird feet, which are grayish-black, are well-adapted for perching but not for walking; a flightless hummingbird is essentially helpless on the ground.

The average life of a hummingbird is 3-4 years, although one specimen was caught in 1976 in Colorado, banded, and captured again in 1987

Johann Erickson


Damp drizzle again, the weather folks promise some sun, and pumped up temperatures and humidity. There may be a threat of afternoon thunder fueled by the elusive spring sun...if it appears at all.

Hope you don't mind seeing Mr. Sharpie again, I'm really in love with him. They're a real challenge to photograph well and I'm determined to get crisp shots with lots of poses.

For the Record,
This day came in with damp drizzle. 64 degrees, humidity 95%, barometer rising.