hum me a few bars

the hummingbird feeder that kathryn sent me the other day is getting a thorough working-over.

i half-filled the feeder friday evening just after sunset. by monday morning i needed to refill the darn thing.

i never realized how aggressive those little guys are. one of them has already staked it out for himself and fights the others tooth-and-nail (or is that bill-and-claw) to defend “his” nectar.

the “overseer” perches in the top of the tree near the feeder and when one of the other birds comes up he chases them away. but, right after he does that another comes up to partake in the nectar until the nectar-boss returns.

before i moved to this area i had never seen a hummingbird perch. we used to have one that frequented the bottlebrush bush at the castle and he used to perch all the time. the same with these hummers.

they are letting me get really close to them as they feed. i’ve been as close as 30-inches from the feeder. they also fly close enough that i can feel the ever-so-slight breeze coming off of their wings as they pass.

i guess i’m going to have to look into getting a seed-feeder for the songbirds.

and maybe a carrion-feeder for the buzzards and turkey vultures that endlessly circle the skies above carmel valley.