Look Who Came to Call on the Hummingbirds Today!

Apr22

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A Kestrel, which is a type of falcon.
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I didn’t think it was a friendly visit and the hummingbirds didn’t either!
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Kestrels like to hover in the still air and dive bomb their prey at up to 65 miles per hour. The Hummingbirds seemed to know this and cleared out tout de suite !
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All except for this juvenile who is not even fully fledged yet. He thought it was a great opportunity to dominate the feeder. Of course since I was out and about, the poor kestrel had to look somewhere else for his morning meal!
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And the juvenile hummer lived to fledge another day.
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When the kestrel left, the hummers returned.
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They are currently consuming approximately 32 ounces of nectar daily!
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The kestrel is divine isn’t he? He was quite unafraid. Life at The Holler is really ‘for the birds’ and that is fine by me!
Cheers to you from all your Holler feathered friends~

224 thoughts on “Look Who Came to Call on the Hummingbirds Today!”

  1. The black oil sunflower seeds are bringing new birds to my feeder. I enjoy several woodpeckers, redwing blackbirds, wren, yellow finches, robins, doves, … I had to get a new feeder as the squirrels ate the plastic one. The metal one I have now is supposed to close the feeding holes with the weight of the squirrel. But I think they figured that out and hang upside-down on the feeder. Or wait for the birds to drop seed. The ducks and Canadian geese even try to see if there is anything left for them on the ground. Though now that we finally got the tree out of the creek I think they are happy to be in the water – without having to climb over the ‘dam’.

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  2. The kestrel is so much like an owl, in the respect that it looks like it understands and is ‘wise’ beyond its capacity! I love the inquisitive nature in it, but also fear for the little birds and especially hope he is not going to hurt the hummingbirds.

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  3. I just love these pictures! Kestrels are such beautiful birds, and they have the sweetest faces. It’s hard to imagine them preying on little hummingbirds. (That last picture of the kestrel that you posted makes me wonder if it knew what you were planning to write about it, because the expression on its face is like, “Who, me?”) I’m glad you were there to protect the fearless hummingbird!

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    • I am fair I do include the bugs, rattlesnakes, errrrrr……unusual folks and stuff……still I haven’t posted the chicken farm you have to pass on the way (roll up the windows, turn the air to recycle, plug your nose, and floor the accelerator!) So probably not precisely heaven…….. 😉

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    • Ohhh so nice, but no way do you wish to be me, in the just the first place I am a lot older than you!!! Laughing…….and no way am I a poet like you. You rock your socks off and I am so glad you are YOU!! ❤
      Besides can you imagine if your got this wish and woke up as a 57 year old woman, with a husband named Jim, living in a place called The Holler???????
      It would be like a bad hollyweird sit-com from hell……Laughing!

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      • PS- Plus you would have two adult kids named Andrea & Matteo…….You really got me going on this tangent…..Now you are on you knees expressing gratitude for being yourself!!! Cracking up big time now~

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      • LOL. The beauty of the “holler” might compensate for any unwanted effects! LOL. it would be cool to jump inside your camera at least. May have to wait on a few technological advancements for that to happen! Nature just seems to unfold for you and say “here I am”. That’s a blessing and gift.

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      • Well okay we could swap selves for a couple of hours, but then due to my blogging addiction, I would probably bee line to your computer and post a bunch of cheesy poetry on your blog. No way is this a win situation for you!!! 😉
        In all seriousness though, I do hear and appreciate what you are really saying. The Holler is clearly not for everyone. But out here, where the wild things are, I am fully at peace. Thank you for recoginizing this & for giving me some great guffaws too. Cheers to you and thank you!

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    • It’s funny some hummers are more photogenic, not because they look better, but because their movements are less hyper-active. This little guy is definitely such. He’s a star!!!

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  14. magnificent creatures Cindy, i have to ask at what distances are you shooting these from?
    from my own experience both of these varieties of birds are very skittish, not likely to stay
    put if they sense humans near. wow, a kestrel. that’s kinda’ rare to see, i saw my first
    Falcon in the Chicago yesterday, we’ve had a huge resurgence of them in the past decade.

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    • I am usually quite close. No more than 6 feet away. We are heading to Peregrine nesting territory so I hope to have some shots of these speedy guys. Maybe they will actually sit still on a nest!!! Cheers to you my friend and thank you~

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  20. Cindy…my Lord you are a wonder!! As much as those hummingbirds! I would have to agree with Nav!! How in the world, were you able to catch those birds in midflight?! I do have an incredible hummingbird story to tell you. My Uncle Nokie, (who was a professional racecar driver) had a place atop a mountain here in the Smokey’s. The first time I visited him, he told me to have a seat on one of the rockers on his front porch. I did and he turned to me and said. “When they come…they’ll come in groups. It will scare you at first, because it’s strange to be sure…and usually they do not gather in this high a number. If you move one inch…breathe to heavy….or flutter your eyes to fast…they’ll fly away & you’ll miss the wonder! When they emerge…stay very still and watch them. I can remember thinking…he’s lost his mind. Then I got really nervous picturing the Alfred Hitchcock movie “The Birds”. All of a sudden…the first of the birds, made it’s appearance. One single Hummingbird. He flew over to the feeder not two feet from me and began drinking when a strange sound surrounded us on the porch. Within seconds, more than twenty humming birds appeared and began dispersing to 7 of the dozen feeders he had hanging from his porch. A few seconds later, 20 more. And this went on & on until my Uncle had close to one hundred hummingbirds feeding on his porch! It was without a doubt one of the most magical moments I’ve ever experienced. Though to most that would sound silly…you would have to be there to appreciate it! As I looked at your pics, it occurred to me. “I wish I would’ve had Cindy there with me to document those lovely birds!!! Uncle Nokie passed away four years ago, but every time I visit his home; I remember how proud he was that day, to show us all what he enjoyed regularly. Watching his face light up as we experienced the dance of the hummingbirds. Thanks for the memory Cindy!!! Love this and sharing it now!! 😉 ❤

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    • This story gives me goosebumps, and of course makes total sense to me in every way. When I take photos of the hummers, I focus on a particular bird or birds and have the camera in front of my eye. The other hummers buzz around me causing my hair to blow in their breeze and if I didn’t have the camera in front of my face, I would blink involuntarily because they come so close to my face. They land on my hand when I hang the feeders. They definitely know me and do not fear me. When I work in the garden, they drink out of the hose spray and follow me around to see what I am doing. If I am taking pics of bees on the blue sage for example, they will start to drink from the sage flowers almost as if to say, “take a pic of me here then” They are almost like pets and I love them. Your uncle and I clearly would have understood each other. Plus, I love to race around in our Boxster and my husband is a porsche race driving instructor in his spare time, so we would have that in common too. I am so glad you had this experience to know what it is like. There is something truly magical about forming a relationship with wild creatures. Trust you two to intuit this~ ❤ ❤

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      • Wow! As an Australian who has never seen a hummingbird reading these stories about flocks of Hummingbirds and their friendly interactions sounds amazing…even if I struggle to picture it. Our Rainbow Lorrikeets are very friendly like that and will visit my parents’ balcony. You get certain trees where the lorrikeets congregate in their hundreds all nattering at dusk. It’s an amazing sound…better than the screeching Sulphur-crested cockatoos.

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  23. The first time I ever saw one of these little predators it flew right over my head. I’d never seen the colors like that on the underside of a regular bird. I’d seen it quite well since it flew right over me. When I got to my computer I spent some time figuring out what I’d seen. It was my first experience with this amazing raptor. Thanks for the pictures.

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  24. Pingback: Sonntagsleserin KW #17 – 2014 | buchpost

  25. Reblogged this on Spirit In Action and commented:
    As always Cindy captures the beauty and spirit of these birds so that instead of static images each one is a living moment you are invited to experience. What a lovely break from all the serious and often negative news! Thank you Cindy!

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  28. Bsolutely fabulous Kestrel, Cindy! the Hummingbirds aren’t too shabby, either, but those are among the best candid Kestrel photos I’ve seen anywhere. Well done!

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  30. Pingback: Birds, Birds Everywhere | From guestwriters

    • Birds are such amazing creatures. They do have lessons to teach us on how to live and I do feel priveleged with all the wonderful birds that live in Hollerdom. Cheers to you and thank you too!

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  39. Hi Cindy,
    I send a card today and don’t ask me why this little paragraph about the Hummingbird and I remembered this post and wanted to share it with you. Perhaps, you’ve heard it before.
    “Legends say that the hummingbirds float free of time,carrying our hopes for love, joy and celebration. The hummingbirds delicate grace reminds us that life is rich, beauty is everywhere, every personal connection has meaning and that laughter is life’s sweetest creation.”
    Hope you are having a great day xx Rowena
    PS I was interested to read that your husband instructs as a racing car driver. My husband has an Austen Healey Sprite in the back shed. Not quite a Porsche and it’s certainly seen better days now. My husband would love to get it out on the track doing club racing but it won’t be hapening any time soon.
    xx Rowena

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    • What a delightful comment. I hadn’t heard all of this about hummingbirds, but I knew as totem animals, they symbolize the joy and beauty and pleasure of life, something I can heavily relate too. Austin Healy’s are phenomonal cars. I love excellent cars, just like my husband and yours. If I were you I would desperately want to take it for a spin, or 10! I hope your hubby does get it track ready. It would be so fun to see it pace around the track. Cheers to you Rowena and thank you for the lovely message~

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  40. You must live at the intersection of heaven and my dream garden. I can only hope I get to see a few of the amazing scenes you capture in my life! Keep sharing these amazing shots 🙂

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  42. Good Morning Cindy,
    Your photography is great~ ! I absolutely love hummingbirds! I need much better lenses to capture birds the way you do. I love looking at your blog! Thanks for subscribing to mine.

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  43. Hi Cuz,
    Kestrels (Prairie Falcons) are just a precious treasure. Of all the falcons, I love their coloring the best. They’re not the largest of their type, but only second to the fastest- the peregrine. Peregrines are not nearly so pretty though. Didn’t know that they would go for a hummer though. How was the trip? G’nite….. Hugs ! 🙂

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