The Avian Ballet

Fascinating creatures, hummingbirds.

The bay window in our kitchen overlooks the back yard, and we have a deck at the back of the house that is level with the window. Naturally, with this perfect arrangement the WGH mounted the hummingbird feeder to the side of the deck so we could watch them out the window.

Hummingbirds are very territorial creatures, you know. We've learned that they will comb every square inch of the earth looking for food, and once they find a place to get it, they will return to that same locale every year. For this reason, we keep our feeder filled from somewhere around March until somewhere around October, when we take it down (it's supposed to encourage them to fly south for the winter). We have about six of the little beauties that now take up residence somewhere around our house during that time.

While they're here, we enjoy the show. Every day I am treated to a command performance of what I call the Avian Ballet. They flit gracefully around the feeder, lighting only long enough to take a dainty slug of nectar from the feeder (we call it the Hummingbird Kool-Aid, and it's really nothing more than sugar water - no color or anything). Things get exciting when more than one of them decides it's time for a feeding. These beautiful, preciously cute tiny creatures will dive-bomb each other to keep their way clear to the feeder. They hover around it, waiting for one of the others to try to horn in on their action, and when one of its fellows gets too close, zoom!

Occasionally I'll go out on the deck and watch them - and you wouldn't think it, but I'm taking my life in my hands. The dive-bombing that goes on usually involves a good running start of about twenty feet or so - then these little feathery torpedoes zoom right by my head on their way to the feeder.

This is entertainment at its best, a la Mother Nature.

We have three regular bird feeders in the back yard as well - one with sunflower seeds for the cardinals and jays, a millet feeder for the sparrows, chickadees and other various and sundry species, and a thistle feeder for the finches. Every so often I'll look out the window and find the finch feeder covered with at least four and sometimes as many as six of the bright yellow critters. There are house finches here, too - the pretty little red and brown ones - but the goldfinches are my favorites. Like bursts of sunshine (although admittedly we probably need less of that around this part of the country these days - if you have rain in your neck of the woods, please be so kind as to send it our way).

I'm trying to get creative again. I think I've finally - FINALLY - come up with the ultimate twist for the latest book. There are a few logistic details to work out, but this might just be it. BMWs meet tonight, and I'll be meeting JT ahead of time, so I have some serious brainstorming and planning and organizing to do before the day job shift starts at 11.

Wish me luck. I'll keep you posted on my progress.

In the meantime, read a book!

=) JB

Quote of the Day:
Creative activity could be described as a type of learning process where teacher and pupil are located in the same individual.
-- Arthur Koestler (1905-1983) Hungarian writer