hummers

I love living in the Northwest. These little guys, hummers as my Gramps and I say, are still around in mid-October. I didn't have a feeder last fall/winter, so I don't know how long they stick around. Is it possible they will be here year round? I love how quick they are, their long beaks, how often they come to the feeder. I can see them from the desk where I work in my home office. They dive-bomb each other, fighting for pecking order I guess.

One winter, my grandparents had one that didn't fly south (they live in South Carolina and their hummers would migrate in the winter). My Grandma named it Rambo and changed the food daily so it wouldn't freeze (the food and the hummer). She would call me with weekly updates "yes, he is still here. Can you believe it?"

I love the counterpose that happends when they perch on the feeder - when their wings stop for just a few seconds so they can eat. Have you ever heard the sounds they make? There is the vibration of their wings but they also chirp. It is fantastic.

Do you think they eat all night too?

(photo: hummer from office window, 10/13/05, canon digital rebel)