Lady G: Little Green Jewel on a Big Red Flower

"A flash of harmless lightning, A mist of rainbow dyes, The burnished sunbeams brightening, From flower to flower she flies." - John Banister Tabb*


Finally, at long last, I get to introduce you to my favorite little bird! Friends, meet Lady Greensleeves! (Also referred to simply as Lady G.)

Lady Greensleeves is a ruby-throated hummingbird. In the past few years she has become a regular visitor to our yard, and especially to the big red monarda blooms in my butterfly garden.

It's been a strange spring for hummingbirds. They usually arrive in late April and disappear for the year in late September. This year I caught a few glimpses of them around their normal arrival time, but then they seemed to disappear. I suspected it was because - after a brief initial hot spell - it was mostly a cool, wet spring.

Then last week, the monarda (also called bee balm) came into full bloom, and I kept watch for the little birds, but none came. Is there anything more lonely than a whole garden of gorgeous red monarda with no hummingbirds to enjoy them? I think not!

I didn't want to admit it but I was a little bit depressed. Well, more than a little; I had always enjoyed seeing birds but never really bonded with one until I met Lady G. I stewed over the situation, worried about her; could something bad have happened?

And here is where I admit that during the spring hummingbird migration time, I think about Lady G and I worry about whether she is strong enough to make that long, non-stop flight (500 miles, or about 805 km) across the Gulf of Mexico to make her way home to me.

For me, Lady G has been something of a bird ambassador. I consider her a sort of "gateway" bird, in that now I've become a fan of other birds as well. But Lady G will always be my first love; she's the first bird who stole my heart.

Anyway, on Saturday morning, the hummingbirds came back! And the air above the butterfly garden was suddenly alight with . . . WINGS!!! You can sense them when they are coming - the buzz of tiny wings, a flash of bright green, a high-pitched chirp. Hooray, hooray! They're back!

My experience has been that the males tend to be more brightly colored, with a large red spot on the throat. The females I've seen seem to be a slightly lighter shade of green, without the large red spot. To learn more about hummingbirds, visit www.hummingbirds.net, which is one of the best Web sites I know for hummingbird info.

To give you a sense of scale, the red bloom shown here (the variety is actually called monarda Jacob Cline) is about 2 to 3 inches (5 to 8 cm). That's one little bird!

When I uploaded this picture onto the computer, I laughed out loud because I could see a little bit of yellow powder on her head. I suspect it may be pollen from one or more of the flowers she's nibbled on today. Um, Lady G, how can I put this politely, my dear? But you've got . . . um . . . food on your head! :-)

By the way, Lady Greensleeves is one of my favorite summer photography subjects, so I expect you'll be seeing more of her as summer progresses. So keep an eye on this space!

And I, for my part - well, if you come looking for me on a summer morning or evening - you are likely to find me in my yard with my camera, watching and waiting by the butterfly garden, enjoying the company of Lady G and her friends.


*Note: I changed the quote from he to she because this little bird - Lady G - is female. :-)


P.S. A few years ago, I planted a little garden in my yard just for butterflies and hummingbirds. If you are interested in planting your own garden for pollinators - and I highly encourage you to! - I've included some information about what I've planted in my own garden in my June 16 blip posting.