A Lovely "Bouquet"!

I found a lovely "bouquet" in my rose garden today! This is not surprising except for the fact that I am not referring to flowers. The bouquet that was in the garden consisted of a passel of hummingbirds! I just found out today that a group of hummers is called a bouquet and I thought that was the neatest thing! I have a "Bouquet of Ruby-throats" in the rose garden..how delightful does that sound?? Other collectives names include a "Glittering" and a "Shimmer"! I really do like these! They are so perfect for these tiny "Jewels of the Garden"!

King of the perch! Male Ruby-throated Hummingbird.

Here in South Mississippi, we have the lovely Ruby-throated Hummingbird. This is the only hummingbird that breeds east of the Mississippi River and other than the occasional lost passerby, no other hummers come to our feeders. Still, we are happy with our Rubies and don't complain. These are enough to supply us with thrills of their presence! Some folks believe they have several types visiting their feeders but most likely they mistake the juveniles and the females for different breeds. All one and the same.

A young juvenile male Ruby-throated Hummingbird sneaking in a sip!

This morning, I noticed a hummer by the pea blossoms and hurried to clean and fill a feeder. After just a few minutes, this little fellow found the feeder and was happily sipping away at the nectar. Then zap! Another male flew in and literally popped the first. Hmmm..this made me rush in to get another feeder...then another and another. It seemed as if hummingbirds were coming out of the woodwork! They were everywhere! And all battling out over who was to feed first! All in all, I put out seven feeders and still they squabbled! Let the battles begin! These little guys are very territorial it seems. I am almost certain that this must be a dominance thing, as the biggest and boldest of the fighters had a beautiful red throat while most of the others appeared to be juvenile males. The females were allowed to feed in peace. It was interesting to watch this feud! I pulled my chair up close under the feeders and was almost in the direct line of fire on occasion. At times, I could even "feel" them as they zipped by my head. Oh, this was exhilarating to say the least! I was in the middle of a Nature Phenomenon!

Lots of feeders for the hummers!

I must tell of how one of the feeders came to be. Last year, a raccoon knocked down a feeder and busted the glass bottle part. I (being the hoarder..er..collector I am) saved the "flower" part. Today as I was actually going to toss this broken part, Son (being the "Mr. Fix-it" he is) used a one liter ginger ale bottle to make a new feeder. He added a hook in the bottom of the bottle as a hanger and a rubber gasket between the parts. My feeder is now as good as new and the hummers do not seem to mind that it is green while the others are clear! Feed on..Little Jewels..feed on!

Recycled ginger ale bottle aka hummingbird feeder!