The Tiniest Warrior

In early July, the huge, red monarda came into bloom in my backyard butterfly garden, and suddenly the air was alight with the color and sounds of hummingbirds!

But then, a few days ago, the hummingbirds seemed to disappear. After days and days of constant visits and aerial acrobatics, they were just . . . gone. And then my husband mentioned he had heard the cries of a hawk in our backyard. And so of course I feared the worst. I fretted over it: worried that I hadn't appreciated them enough, hadn't spent enough time with them.

But then, on Monday, I was working at home, and around noon, my husband, who had been in the yard, came in and called for me: the hummingbirds were back! I went out into the yard for a few minutes to observe them; took my camera along.

Within minutes, I was treated to a series of aerial acrobatic maneuvers that would have made the Flying Wallendas proud. There were hummingbirds flying, darting, fighting, eating. All at once and all around the yard.

And chief among them was this fellow, a little male ruby throat. He jealously defended the garden and all of its treasures. And when he wasn't flitting around engaging with the other little birds, he was sitting on the fence along the left side of the butterfly garden, or on the trellis nearby, keeping an eye to the skies for incoming hummingbirds.

I am not sure if this is the same ruby throat male that I captured in my July 15 blip. If it is, he has since acquired a little injury on his beak (do you see that red bump near the bottom of the beak?). For such a fierce little warrior, it's no surprise that he should bear some battle scars.

The song to accompany this photo of the tiniest warrior is Patty Smyth and Scandal, The Warrior.