Coming home means hanging out with the hummers.
I don’t worry about them when I’m gone.
I just miss them.
My husband, the actual-factual, logical-biostatistician, said incredulously, “They fly up to me like they missed me.”
He’s not used to thinking like this,
but he can’t help noticing such obvious birdy behavior.
Speaking of birdy behavior, we are having a problem this year.
The snoozing little capitalist you see above is dominating two quart-sized feeders and relentlessly attacking and driving all hummers off who try to feed. He spends more time hoarding nectar than feeding and snoozes all the time because he’s exhausted from all his effort. Of course he can’t even begin to drink this much nectar!
You can see him perched on the wire above the feeder, waiting to attack any bird that dares to drink! We have three feeders now spaced far apart to control him, one in a bush that is impossible for him to monitor, but when I shut one of “his” feeders down, he goes to dominate another. We have never had such a greedy little guy and he reigns unchallenged. I hope he’s not learning this behavior from watching humans! 😉
Cheers to you from the harmonious Holler Hummers….(and the one little greedy guy)~
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The texture of their feathers comes through in these very beautiful, detailed photos. Yes, flying jewels is a great description!
The details and textures are fascinating aren’t they, when seen close up!
Aren’t they fascinating!
Leslie
Endlessly, yes!
🙂
How did you get these absolutely fantastic shots?! I’m envious!
My sony HX400 gets a lot of credit. It is great for wildlife zoom shots.
Well, I agree that the equipment does play a role, but it still is the photographer who makes the pictures.
Thank you. Much appreciated.
I was wondering the same thing! I have Nikon d7000 that I’m learning to use. It’s a big learning curve, since I’m not technical-minded. I really like your humming birds. Great shots!
Oh, I missed your comment and am happy I found it. Different Photographic approaches work well for different people, you can see this in the amazing variance in people’s photos. What has worked for me is just going outside, having fun, taking photos, trashing the amazing amount of failures, waiting for the good, and being non-deterred by the amount of failure, because this is how I learn.
I also avoid manuals, technical instructions, like the plague. They are somebodies else’s instructions.
Just play.
Hi Cindy: You’re so right. I just need to go out there and do it!
Your posts including this, made me little more closer towards nature and to keenly observe its architecture,and i hope you keep travelling, observing and capturing the beauty of it,and i love those little flying creatures..along with open writing
Oh, you just gave me goosebumps. It makes me very happy to think the photos had this affect on you and I greatly appreciate your thoughtfulness in telling me. Be well & thank you.
Such beauties! I’ve seen one approaching a red rose in our yard, and it makes me smile every time. I’ll be interested in hearing how you “ration” Mr. Greedy’s nectar so the other hummers can feed, ha!
He is fully under control now and sharting like a good harmonious hummer. I owe the solution to my son.
Sounds like another post for another day, Cindy!!
<3
My but you do do that magic that you do do so well! 🙂 Beautiful shots!
Glorious!
Merci beaucoup mon ami!
YAY!!! you have my favorite bird back on again, thank you so much!!! 🙂 great work:)
A person who loves hummingbirds is automatically a friend of mine!
lol good to know 🙂
<3
🙂
Reblogged this on TINA FRISCO and commented:
Brilliant post by Cindy Knoke on hummingbirds. Her description of one little hummer, as well as that of her husband, are not to be missed! Looking forward to Part II with acquisitive anticipation 😊
People like you are why blogging is so awesome. You are such a wonderful friend Tina. Hugs to you~ <3
Ditto, Cindy. Hugs back to you ❤
<3
Amazing, so much personality among even the humingbirds! Beautiful pictures!
Thank you. All creatures great and small are more complicated than we often want to admit.
welcome home & thanks for the hummer pics
Thank you!
Amazing birds with personality. Great shots, as always.
Thank you and glad to know their personalities came through in the post.
The surface of their plumes comes through in these exceptionally wonderful, itemized photographs. Yes, flying gems is an awesome description!…
Breathtakingly beautiful pictures Cindy! Well Captured. How did you manage to click them so close. The colors,the texture,the layers they are all so visible.One word.Amazing!
Awwww, honored and most appreciated my friend~
Hey Cindy,
May I say I was blown away by these photographs you have captured
They are a delight, so bright, a stunning sight,
And so exquisitely feathered.
Thank you for posting…a real treat for me living in the UK where these beautiful aviators are very few and far between. I adore them, not just for their beauty, their grace, and their amazing flying abilities but also for their symbolism, which is just as merry and bright. If I may I’ll leave a link to a site providing reflection of the Hummer. Thank you.
http://www.whats-your-sign.com/hummingbird-animal-totem.html
Hoping all is well wherever you may. Thank you for a joyous post on what is already an overcast Monday morning here in Wales, UK. Yet still, the songbirds sing, the crows cras and the sea-gulls soar and captivate my imagination.
Take care of you, hubby and the Hummers in all ways always.
Namaste 🙂
DN
This comment was like beautiful flowing poetry. You make me very happy I posted these photos. Thank you for touching my heart this day. <3
Hey Cindy,
It’s my pleasure always, thank you for a kind and generous reply to add to the enjoyment I’ve already had in visiting, reading, and viewing these beautiful photographs. They made me very happy indeed, thank you.
Curiously as your notification arrived I was just reading your gravatar profile and enjoying the humour there-in. The wilderness within which you live, thrive and continue to love this life sounds incredible. Certainly it is a large slice of heaven and all of it on your doorstep. Lucky you! I am just a little bit jealous 🙂
Thank you for bringing colour to my Monday. Enjoy a wonderful week.
Namaste <3
DN
Wonderful to meet you and I will enjoy following your blog!
Thank you. The sentiment is entirely reciprocated, as too the enjoyment I will get from following your Blog 🙂
Take care Cindy in all ways always.
Namaste
DN
Namaste <3
Namaste <3
Your photos are superb, Cindy, and those little guys are quite beautiful. I guess the greedy fella is like Napoleon, out for conquest. 🙂
Thank you very much and Napoleon is a perfect name for him!
🙂
Have’s and have-not’s. 💐
The source of conflict!
What beautiful birds and excellent photography as always
I am happy you enjoyed them & cheers to you~
Fantastic pictures!
Merci beaucoup mon ami! <3
I’ve always been in awe of the hummingbird. Before I moved to the city last year, my neighbor had a feeder and we were graced with these beauties’ amazing flight patterns. Your photos are stunning, Cindy! <3 I especially was drawn to the little one (fifth from the top). So cutely disheveled. Love the perspective of the perch he's sitting on.
Thank you for looking so carefully. He was perched on a cactus needle, fluffing his feathers and grooming, incredibly cute to see!
Cactus needle. Interesting. Wasn’t sure what it was. <3
Cindy, we have a similar set of hummingbirds here who buzz the others away- maybe they know something we don’t? They are beautiful photos!
Thanks much Lara. Moving the feeder helps to break up a domineering bird’s control.
We are on the top floor of a condo complex so it’s not possible. It’s bird wars here. But I really loved your photos!
They’re so beautiful. It’s like they love posing for you. What a greedy little guy. I have one cat that wants to visit every other kitty’s breakfast bowl before he’s done with his own. Maybe it’s a guy thing! 😛 😆
Laughing, or just a greed thing! Wonderful to hear from you my friend & cheers to you and your family~ <3
You, too, Cindy. I always look forward to your posts. You capture such beauty! All the best to you and yours! 😀
Amazing shots! One can really see details of the feathers. There always seems to be greedy one that stakes out his territory, I am sure they missed posing for you!
Maybe that’s the issue, the capitalist wanted his photo out in the world like the Kardashians!
Good humming grief! Are the others getting any nectar at all? Perhaps a feeder quite a ways away from the rest?
My son solved the problem by placing a feeder obscured in a bush. It was hard for him to get to, and when he tried to police it, he couldn’t monitor the one, so he eventually gave up, and now sharing is occurring once more!
Beautiful jewels!
They are gorgeous birds aren’t they!
These hummingbirds pics are so cute, and you’ve conveyed their personalities. I want to hug them.
Laughing……They are about the size of your baby finger, so they are hard to hug! But it is a big thrill when they land on your hand!
😃
Back again to see the amazing post~ I saw a hummingbird at my parents’ place last night, perched at their backyard feeder 🙂
Hummingbirds contain some unknown magic. Watching them is very therapeutic for me. It puts things in perspective!
Wow, Cindy, just incredible photos! Your hoarder fellow looks hilarious dozing on his perch 😁
Poor little dummy exhausted himself guarding his riches! Reminds me of certain people! 😉
I love the little captions and stories you add to your fabulous photos Cindy. 🙂 x
Makes me happy I posted! Thank you dear one~ <3
Thank YOU. <3
💐
This is brilliant stuff Cindy…and they truly are beautiful jewels…:-)
lucky you..:-) <3
take care
sriram
You take care too my friend, and thank you! <3
Love the captures … especially since we have only one species of hummers here.
We have up to four, but so far the fourth is a no show. It’s a thrill when they do show up!
wünsche einen super Tag für dich heute von mir
Ich wünsche dir eine wundervolle woche Vielen Dank und Jubel für Sie!
heute ist es hier bei uns wettermäßig richtig angenehm, wünsche einen super guten Tag
Incredible images that depict them in such a lovely way! Great work! 🙂
I am very pleased you enjoyed them and it is a pleasure to meet you!
Did you end it by saying “cheers to you by the harmonious…..” Did you see that knife!!!! Comming out of that birds mouth? Freaky…..
Nice pics as always, hope you didn’t get to near one of those things
Laughing……These guys are half the size of your baby finger! That was his tongue coming out of him mouth so he could draw up nectar. Hummingbird tongues are longer than their bodies. They are super precision fliers, and can fly an inch from your eye at great speed and all you will feel is the air draft as they whiz by!
Thank you for helping me get out of the trauma, you said they only will fly half an inch from you? Makes me feel better…..freaking birds are freaky, you can explain it however you want….. still freaky,
love ya, have a great day I certainly will since I got paid today, but don’t scare me again…..fliying an in from me, that’s what I need…. jesus woman!
Laughing……Have awesome day!
Such beautiful birds. Wonderful pictures.
Thank you so much, makes me happy I posted!
They are stunning. Their feathers are incredible.
Aren’t they amazing. I will be in Costa Rica and Peru at the end of the Year and I cannot wait to focus my camera on the blue and purple and tropical colored ones!
Can’t wait to see the photos!
What a fascinating story, Cindy. We see the challenges, but never to this degree. Poor little guy wearing himself out. He’s the alpha, ALPHA of the holler hummers.
You’re right! He definitely was. But now he is being polite and sharing. My son moved the feeders into creative positions and solved the problem.
That’s terrific news! Harmony restored.
Cindy, check this out: http://daybreakimagery.com/blog/2011/06/21/dealing-with-hummingbird-feeder-wars/
Oh my! I have heard of people who can’t leave their houses because they have to constantly replenish their 20 or so feeders and they accommodate hundreds of birds! I am happy with my 20-40 birds and 3 feeders!
Wow. Who knew? We have several nectar plants in addition to our feeders (one in the front, two in the back). My favorite is a semi circle that attaches to the kitchen window.
Yes, smart of you to have those plants for them. Hummingbirds eat primarily gnats like fruit flies, which give them protein, and nectar from flowers as an adjunct. If a hummingbird is fed only nectar it will die which is how they get killed by lots of people who rescue them. At The Holler they are in orchard territory which means an endless supply of fruit flies and nectar. They use the feeders because it is a lot easier than flying flower to flower to drink nectar, but they aren’t really dependent on the feeders under normal circumstances, like now, when the orchards that haven’t died (so many did during the drought) are thriving. However, in the last five years or so, during California’s horrendous drought every wild plant and animal at The Holler was pushed towards death, and the hummingbirds were dependent on our feeders. Now they are not, which is why that little capitalist dominated the feeder. He could, because he had so much food. I watch the hummers in zoom, and they basically suck down gnats like breathing. It is so good to see them out of crisis mode.
Thanks for sharing your knowledge, Cindy. We rescued an infant hummer a few years ago, but only kept it overnight before taking it to a wild animal shelter and rehab. She was so small, so soft and wonderfully trusting. I have a photo of her sitting on my son’s chest, scooped in his hand. I’m glad she was nursed to health and released. I’ve had the pleasure of watching a hummingbird remove spider webbing from the garden for her nest, along with tufts of spent flower seeds. I’m quite smitten. And yes, thank goodness this drought is behind us.
How smart you were to take the bird to rescue. I am not trained to provide rescue and I wouldn’t attempt it either. But how lovely to have cared for him overnight. And I know exactly what you mean about how trusting they are . It is nothing short of miraculous!
Pretty birds…you know howI feel about the beautiful Hummingbirds. Thank you for always taking such great pics and sharing with us.
I am going to name the just out of the nest, newly flying, pretty little baby hummingbird, Antoinette, in your honor! <3 Only the best you~
THANK YOU SIS!!!!
<3 <3
I always figure that when the hummers dive-bomb me after I’ve been gone for awhile, they are complaining about their feeder being empty and urging me to fill it up, post haste! 🙂 –Curt
Laughing…..I bet they are!!! I keep them full while I’m gone to avoid this wrath!
Some of their colors are so vibrant and beautiful. 🙂
And these are some of the least colorful hummers. The colors really get amazing as you head into Central America.
Lovely shots, my friend. And the greedy one is too funny…(๑ŏ⋖⋗ŏ)
He is because he reminds me of some humans. (๑ŏ⋖⋗ŏ)
Cindy, I have yet to get my feeder hung here at the new place. There are four or five units in our building that have them and they say there are a lot of hummers to go around. I had many at our old place and left the feeder fully stocked there for the new owner. I bought a new one and just need a hook to hang it. Your little scrapper sounds like one my Mom had many years ago who did much the same thing. But the others weren’t so forgiving. They ganged up on him and eventually, they all ate again in harmony!
So you are part of two generations of hummingbird lovers. How marvelous is this! Ancient peoples created amazing giant rock carvings of hummingbirds that could only be viewed from mountain tops. Your mother and you are a connection, a continuation, of people’s ancient love of hummingbirds
He must have been watching too much tv! I’m glad your son found a solution to Mr Greedy. I wonder what the human equivalent might be 😉
I love the details …. and the story Cindy. Thank you for a lovely share 💛
There are really good contemporary human examples of the little greedy capitalist aren’t there! 😉 😉
Ha-ha! Birds really do have personality! I love watching our three pairs of cardinals. I choose to believe that they are all family members, and they return to have their babies in my shrubs. Just last night, I saw our first hummingbird of the season. I just love the little guys…even the greedy ones! 😉
I am with you completely, albeit very jealous you have cardinals!
When we moved here ten years ago, we had one pair of cardinals. I told my husband I wanted them to be happy and have their families here. I did some research on them and planted an elm hedge and an olive hedge by the feeder. They have returned each year,and now they bring their ‘adult’ children. Very happy about that. They are beautiful color on a winter or spring day!
How wonderful that you planned a home for them! I have to travel to see cardinals. <3
☺Oh dear! I have similar problems with our birds – they are thugs! They even broke the feeder in a battle for domination! I now have a better one which the big boys can’t hang onto so the little tiddlers get their fair share now. They still all do battle oN the other ones though! Bird table is starting to look very wobbly and wonky and somewhat off balance as a result! 😆😅🙃
Hilarious! This sounds like a northern version of The Holler! 😉 😉
Such beautiful photos of these hummers….lol…flawed humans, flawed creatures in nature.
Very true. Unfortunately humans create much more damage on this planet.
How territorial your little hummer king is. The urge to compete and dominate must be part of the genetic code. Perhaps the scarcity that happened during your absence made the urge more intense.
Well the feeders stay up when we’re gone. But his behavior may well have gone unchecked for a long time and become entrenched. I started moving the feeders as soon as I saw what he was doing. If this had happened earlier, the behavior may have been less embedded.
Love your excellent pictures of these beautiful birds, Cindy!
I was just loving your photos yesterday, so we are even! <3
Amazing photos (again!) Cindy– the sheen and detail of those feathers!! Beautiful. xo
All creatures great and small have such amazing beauty. Happy Sunday Rhonda~ <3