Little Speedsters!

  Now here is something for you to ponder.  An average heart rate for a hummingbird is approximately 250 times per minute...while resting! Compare that to a human heart rate of between 60 and 100 beats per minute and you can see what an amazing thing this is!  Now....figure this!  When in flight the heart rate of the hummingbird goes up to a whopping 1,220 times per minute! Our hearts would have exploded far before reaching that stage!  Supposedly, the maximum human heart rate during activity can roughly be figured at 220 minus the person's age. I am no expert on hearts. I just find the hummingbird/human comparison interesting.

  I was pondering all of this today as I sat watching hummingbirds divebomb each other as they tried to sip nectar from the trumpet vine. Those diving flights are amazingly fast with each being close to 40 mph.  For such a tiny bird, they lead some fast moving lives!  This is all about survival. The little birds need to fill up as much as possible on this stop of their migration.  It will not be long before they head further south.  This last jaunt will take them across the Gulf of Mexico and will be a nonstop flight.  It will take them nigh on twenty hours of straight flying to reach their next pit stop before heading on into Central America.  Once they began that journey across the water, they will have to endure whatever weather they find.  It is not an easy flight.  

  The little birds, today, were feeding heavily.  Not only is the yard filled with flowers, I have several feeders filled for their dining pleasure.  The feeders will stay until the weather cools and the birds are on their merry way.  It is the least I can do for these fine feathered friends! 

  Oh...and consider this!  Those tiny wings beat an average of 60 to 80 times per second in normal flight so how many beats of the wings will it take to get across the Gulf of Mexico???  Geez!  Eat up, Little Hummers!  You are going to need that extra energy! (We, humans, are slackers!)

The Diner is Open!

I am more or less what is called a practical person insomuch as I would rather have gifts that I can use instead of knick-knacky type things.  Yeah, those are fine and dandy as far as the thought goes but I would rather have a sack of fertilizer over a Greek goddess statuette any day!  (And, yes, I did receive such a statuette one year for my birthday..and, no, I did not really care for it!  Fertilizer on the other hand..love it!)  For Mother's Day, Elizabeth and Robbie abode my wishes and refrained from any unneeded shelf-sitting, dust-collectors!  Needless to say, I was elated!

When she handed me the gift bag, Elizabeth apologized profusely for getting me something utile.  Carefully pulling the object from the lime-green bag, I was most happy to see a hummingbird feeder!  YES!  This was something that I could use!  Two of my seven feeders had dry-rotted over the winter months.  Now they had cracks that made it impossible to keep the liquid inside!  It also made the feeders extremely vulnerable to ants!  Now, I had a new feeder that would entice the hummers in the yard!

The new feeder reminds me of the old-style chicken feeders.  I remember that Pop never used this type but rather used wooden troughs that were "V" shaped.  This would keep all of the feed easily accessible instead of being scattered hither and yon.  Personally, I have been hunting for one of the old-style feeders for some time now.  I have no clue just why I think I want one but I do!  But..now I have the hummer feeder!  This feeder was immediately washed and filled.  It hangs on the shepherd's hook in the Rose Garden.  Every morning just at daybreak, three immature male Rubythroated Hummers come in the garden to eat. At first, they were a bit shy of this new object hanging in the garden but it did not take long for them to warm up to it.  Now they visit every day!  I love my new feeder and I love my daughter and son-in-law for getting me something "useful"!

Don't Mess With My Birds!

Ok, Spring...you can play around with the weather and tease us all you want but just don't go around messing with my birds!  Spring has come in with a crazy vengeance here on the Bayou just like it has over the entire country.  It has been in the eighties on one day and dropped to the forties during the night only to return to the eighties again.  This is all fine and dandy for me and I am quite happy to go about my business either layering or shedding clothes as the weather prescribes.  The other morning required the heavy jacket to be donned for my hike.  I did not mind..nor did Ms. Ez.  With her eternal fur coat, she had no problem chasing squirrels through the frost-covered grass.  But I did come across one small critter that was having quite a time dealing with the cool snap.  The tiny Ruby-throated Hummingbird was trying its best to find enough nectar in the Amaryllis blooms to keep itself warm.  Cold is not a friend to these little guys!

Ruby-throated Hummingbird waiting for me to fill the feeders.

This was enough to make me hustle back inside to fill several feeders.  As soon as I hung the first one, my friend made a beeline for it.  I hardly had time to climb off the ladder before it was feeding!  Ahh..that is good.  Now maybe he will feel better!  I hung the other three feeders.  Before I left the garden six more hummers were feeding.  I had not realized so many were here already!  They must have migrated in a few days prior to the cool spell not knowing what they would be facing.

Ruby-throated Hummingbird with his feathers fluffed as he tries to  ward off  a cold  rain.

The hummers have a hard time coping when the temperatures suddenly drop.  They must eat more to survive.  Some of these birds migrate across the Gulf of Mexico to overwinter in either Central America or Mexico.  This is a non-stop flight that can be very grueling for the hummer.  I always try to have my feeders in place as soon as the weather warms but with the sporadic winter-like weather, I neglected to do so this spring.  I feel terrible that I nearly caused problems for the tiny birds!  Now, however, they seem happy and many more have stopped in to feed.  The Buckeye bush and jasmine have started blooming so they can feed there, too.  I blame the fickle spring for throwing the birds off on their migration.  Most years, they time their flights according to flowers that are in bloom but this year, the blooms are not following the normal sequence.  Usually, the orange trees and peach trees bloom right after the wisteria and jasmine followed by roses.  However, this spring the oranges did not bloom..the wisteria was early..the jasmine is thinking about it and the peaches have bloomed twice!  Crazy Spring!  Can't you make up your mind?  And quit messing with my birds!  Folks..fill those feeders!  The little guys need your help!

Bundling up!

We are having another cool spell hit the Bayou. It seems a tad early to be thinking of weather in the thirties and forties but, then again, hey...its Fall! When out this afternoon, I saw a few of the Bayou critters that might better make a run for their migratory destinations! Then there were those diehards that stay in the marshes year round without worrying about a little frost on their feathers! I am thinking, though, that it is perhaps time for the Ruby Throated Hummingbirds to be on their way so I took down most of the feeders. I left one up just so any stragglers would have a feeding station. As far as I can tell, I only have one lagging behind on his trip. He stays by the feeder most of the day causing me to wonder if he is just not strong enough to make the flight. If so, I fear for him this winter..the cold will not be kind to him at all. I will watch him carefully over the next few weeks but I am not sure just what I can do to help him if he does decide he cannot make the trip. Perhaps there is some sort of windbreak that might help or even some type of heated area..then again..I might just make matters worse. Sometimes the best help is to leave well enough alone.

This afternoon the Monarch butterflies were gathered en masse at the Wild Ageratums. They fed upon the nectar most of the afternoon and then sought shelter beneath the thick leaves. With the extreme change in temperatures expected tonight, I am afraid they will be in for a rude awakening in the morning. Our temps are to drop from a high today of near eighty to a low of below forty...enough to cause them problems as well. Hopefully, tomorrow will be sunny and they can warm themselves enough to carry on their journey. There is not much I can do to help them through the winter...they better get themselves on the move!

One bird that will stay and ride out the cold, is the Night Heron. He is on his usual perch, the pier post. Here this bird will fluff his feathers out to fight the stinging cold of the North wind. By morning light, though, he will be wading in the cold water in search of a breakfast of shrimp. This is the same Night Heron that comes to me for a handout occasionally. When times are tough, he knows that I will throw the net for his breakfast! This one, I can truly say, is one of my "friends" as he returns time after time to visit.

Although most of the hummingbird feeders have come down, the seed-filled feeders will be well-stocked for those that will stay on the Bayou during the winter. Windbreaks will be allowed to remain in tact for the comfort of the resident birds and other critters. Son and I have decided to leave several brush piles just for this purpose. For the duration of Winter, these piles may not look the prettiest in the yard but they will provide a safe haven from the frigid temperatures for many of my Bayou friends! Brrr! It is a tad chilly out there!

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!