Garden

[silkyk]

I've been feeding my little hummer friends for over 20 years now so they know me and are not the least bit afraid of me. Even buzz me when a feeder is empty! I had a pretty red bathing suit with a big flower on it that drove them crazy. When I wore it on the deck I would get dive bombed and they would fly right on up to inspect closely. Heck even red lipstick would get a once over and right in my face! Lately I've been enjoying them in the red fountain from Kmart that I posted on another hummer thread here. They love it and look so cute flapping their tiny wings in the water. (there are some cute videos on youtube of this)  I also got some hummer hand feeders over on etsy and if you sit still long enough they come right on up to eat out of your hand. BIG fun!

[Snicks1]

I don't get that many, just a few local hummers each summer. This year they came at the usual time, then disappeared until just recently. They are back now, I assume loading up on nectar for the long trip to migrate. I love them.

[esmeesmerelda]

Beautiful creatures!

Wish we had them nearby.

Sweet video I saw recently:

https://www.thedodo.com/feeding-tiny-hummingbirds-video-1289959041.html

Watch Baby Hummingbirds Get Fed In Their Teeny Tiny Nest

Oftentimes it's the teeny, tiniest of creatures who elicit the biggest of "AWW"s.

That about sums up the reaction to an adorable video from the Raptor Education Group that recently resurfaced online. In the clip below, a wildlife rehabilitator demonstrates what feeding time is like for two impossibly small hummingbird chicks all tucked in and cozy in their little nest.

"A nest, complete with tiny Ruby-throated Hummingbird chicks arrived yesterday after it came down in a storm," the group wrote on Facebook. "We were not able to replace it, but will continue to try when weather clears. Few people have the honor of witnessing baby hummingbirds as they are fed."

Fortunately, we no longer have to wait for an update. After the scene above was recorded, back in 2013, the hummingbirds thankfully grew up to be biggish and strong.

"The babies thrived and developed well," their rescuers wrote this week. "They were released at a site that is well known for feeding hummingbirds and has food always available for them to provide a support system as they incorporated into the wild world.

[...] They zoomed into their wild world with great enthusiasm as they exchanged our world for the one that is naturally theirs and we wouldn't have it any other way."❤️

[MoJoV]

@Mary Bailey I love my hummys.  I have one little guy who buzzes up and down about 4feet from my face when I sit outside. He's curious.  When you watch them you get to know their personalities. I'm about 15 miles west of Chicago. I wish these little jewels could stay all year,too. 

[Mary Bailey]

Three of our feeders hang from the soffit of the house, on a wire directly in front of a window. I'm laying in bed now watching & hearing a hummingbird.

@MoJoV Yesterday a hummer perched on the wire holding the feeder. In the garden on shepherd hooks I have thin metal wind chimes that they perch on all the time.  We also had some pretty fierce downpours of rain.  It never stopped them.

@silkyk I hope someday we are so lucky to have them hover by us or feed from our hands! how exciting to think about. I bought that fountain but haven't put it out yet.  It says not to leave it unattended.

[silkyk]

I thought I'd post this for all my fellow hummer lovers. Slid my screen door to the deck open yesterday and a huge praying mantis was hanging on the outside of it right up by the feeder I have there next to the door. Freaked me out! DH came in and looked around online and found THIS! Yikes! I had NO idea this could happen. They say it's rare but it almost happened here yesterday! I'll pay closer attention from now on and make feeders hard for any mantis to get to. http://www.snopes.com/photograph-shows-a-praying-mantis-attacking-a-hummingbird/