A Pair of Hummers...

 "Most elegantly finished in all parts , the hummingbird is a miniature work of our Great Parent, who seems to have formed it  the smallest, and at the same time the most beautiful of the winged spieces." -J.Hector St. John de Crevecouer (1735-1813) Writer.

 I finally got the hummer food figured out. Hurray! They don't like the store bought stuff , powdered or liquid or otherwise. I tried it for a while. but no luck. Instead they seem to prefer the  good old fashioned homemade variety: 1/2 cup sugar ( a tad more sugar  in winter, since they need more energy) to 2 cups water. That will fill one  ordinary hummingbird feeder.  I change it out every 10 days or so. They will feed often. Gives them lots of wing flapping energy.

 A red throated Anna's Hummer and a totally green Hummer have been frequenting the feeder. I think they are dating. I think they have a nest.

 I don't think the cats in the neighbourhood are paying them much attention. I hope not.

 There's still quite a bit of snow sticking around. Today it started at -1 Celsius. And has reached a balmy 6 Celsius ( 43 F) in Campbell River. And the hummer pair keep coming  to the feeder.

 "The hummingbird competes with the stillness of the air...." 
                                           -Chogyam Trungpa (1939-1987) (Meditation master)

 Nesting season for the Anna's Hummingbird runs from December to May or June. They tend to live around here all year long. They will often go and "sleep" for periods of time,where their body temp will drop, allowing them to wait out the days.

 Males with the ruby throat are the ones to set up the territory.

 Females show up a little later and set up their own housekeeping. 

 The green Anna's female is in charge of all things to do with nesting.  She runs a tight ship. An courtship is quite regulated.

 The male will hover in front of the female, rising as high as he can, then dive bombing her, all the time squeaking in a high pitch. The the male will make booming  noises as he dive bombs around her. It's must be true love. I bet she's all a pitter patter.

 The little nest  is made of moss and webs and  plant refuse. I have never seen a nest . I assume they are hidden away in amazing places.I imagine they are the stuff that fairies like to steal. I read a story once, quite a while ago, where  the main characters in the story thought hummingbirds were fairies.

 The eggs  toodle away , safe and cozy,in the nest for about  two weeks. Not too long.Not too short.

 And then after a few weeks, the babu hummers tend to go off on their own after a while.They don't seem to need a lot of coddling.

 It's only for a few days that the female will have to look after the babies.  So young an age to go off and start  taking the world  on . Brave little things. More on hummers at a later date.......

 "May my faith always be at the end of the day like a hummingbird......returning to its favourite flower." 
          -Sanhober Khan , Turquoise Science.  ( Mumbai based freelance writer)

Photographs 2017, M. McConachie Woods