Tuesday, July 12, 2005

Hummers R Us

Ruby-throated Hummingbirds (Archilochus colubris) are on the move again!

Except for the occasional western stray, this is the only hummingbird in Alabama.

A male flashes his ruby throat.

The females seem more demure.

A friend's mother-in-law believed that hummingbirds would sting you, and could not be convinced otherwise.

Pugnacious.

15 comments:

Karen Schmautz said...

I love hummers. You got some great shots. I had to laugh at someone thinking that they could get stung by a hummer until I remembered that I used to think the same thing...but then, what else would a 5 year old think when she saw that long stinger-like snout?

Cuppa said...

Hummers are such marvellous creatures arent' they? Beautiful, delicate, but boy are they feisty with each other.

Madcap said...

I thought after reading this that you might enjoy this site:

http://community-2.webtv.net/hotmail.com/verle33/HummingBirdNest/

I'm enjoying my visits here!

Anonymous said...

Yeah they're pugnacious! The Aztec war god was Hummingbird, or so I'm told.

Maktaaq said...

For years I thought my backyard hummingbird was an extra large bee and I would run away from it. This year it finally paused to get a better look at me and me at it.

Speaking of birds, here's a really big one.

Lorianne said...

Wow...I'm amazed you could get still shots of these guys!

Magazine Man said...

Wait, you mean they CAN'T sting you? Apparently my daughter is misinformed. And she knows everything...

Rhodent said...

I love the hummingbirds... we used to get some around the house, but we no longer have the red flowers that attracted them :o(

Rurality said...

Thanks y'all.

Hick & MM, I guess the hummingbird stinging myth is more widespread than I thought. :)

Cuppa, yeah you think they're delicate until you see them slamming into each other at full speed. :)

Thanks Madcapmum, that was interesting. And thanks for visiting!

DPR my husband found those on sale - it was a 3-pack. He didn't realize there were no perches until he got them home. They don't seem to care though, and just perch nearby.

Ron if one wasn't an Aztec war god, it probably should have been. :)

Maktaaq, LOL. I certainly don't need a bird that big!

Lorianne, they're not as sharp as I'd like but I was surprised the camera could do this well!

Rhodent, if you have a place to hang one, you could put out a feeder. And it's super-easy to make the feeder-juice yourself: Mix 1/4 cup sugar and 1 cup hot water. Cool and put in the feeder and they will come! Most of the feeders are red or have red parts on them.

Happy and Blue 2 said...

Great pictures. Hummingbirds are cool.
So are hummers, tee,hee..

Anonymous said...

http://kraf-o-la.squarespace.com/journal/ scroll down a bit for some lovely photos of humming birds. :)

Rurality said...

H&B, only if they can carry a tune. :)

Anon, thanks, lots of crafty goodness there too.

Rainypete said...

That's a silly thing to think about hummingbirds. They don't sting at all. They use that long beak to gently is your blood, but that's all, you barely feel a thing right?

Nice pics btw, tough to get photos as they flit about so fast.

Tom Andersen said...

Funny about hummingbirds stinging. It reminds me that when I was growing up on Staten Island, my mother used to warn against dragonflies, which she thought would sting us. She called them 'darning needles,' which indeed sounds like a bug that might sting.

Rurality said...

Pete I'm assuming you mean "sip". :) Shudder!

Tom there are some dragonflies called Darners so that's probably where that came from. It's funny the names people have for dragonflies. The family of a friend of mine always called them galinippers!