Day Four ... P-Spottie takes over the garden!

Part of what I wanted to do this week was to capture hummingbirds doing different things. So, today you have a young male showing a classic hummie aggressive posture. What you can't see are the dozen or so hummingbirds careening through the foliage in the garden, mounting high speed attacks on one another! Sometimes they zoom so close to my head that I can feel my hair moving in the breeze created by their wings. Some might consider that scary but I consider it pure magic.

Hummingbird tidbit for today... hummingbirds are highly territorial and will go to great lengths to protect a good food source from any and all other hummers. There is no flock mentality and no family loyalties - it is every hummie for him/herself. Their fights can result in injuries to one or both combatants, although this is rare. When fighting, two hummers will be beak to beak as they rise 20 or 30 feet straight up in the air, sometimes careening back to the ground. It is impressive and a bit daunting to see. As they get closer to their migration south, the battles for food intensify.

I'm happy to report that I am feeling quite human today, so yesterday's pooeyness must have been allergies. Yay! And now it is Friday. More yay!

If you are wondering about the P-Spottie reference... I've named this particular young male P-Spottie in keeping with his supposed father (P-Hummie) and the fact that he has 3 bright red feathers on what will eventually be his glorious ruby throat. I've got a nice shot of him showing his new feathers on Flickr.

I've posted 11 shots on Flickr, starting HERE, mostly of hummingbirds with a few butterflies and hummingbird moths thrown in for good measure.

Have a wonderful weekend, people!

xxoo
Debbi