Hummy and friends

I'm not sure why, but the hummingbirds are very active right now. Perhaps we have some younguns, and perhaps they're starting to gear up for their flight south, but they're really fighting at the feeder! It's fun to watch. There was also one just sitting on the deck railing--how often do you see this?

Here's another one (warning: I got several, and I'm putting them all up now!).

And another--look at this one's throat. I think this might be a young male. He hasn't developed his ruby throat yet. The females' throats are just white with no speckles.

Last hummy pic, this one in motion--they're just a blur!

I'll hate to see them leave for the winter. The past few days have been especially fun. I was standing on the deck, by one of the hooks, and a hummy flew up onto the hook, maybe a foot from me. I think we were both startled! They really are the cutest little things.

At the other end of the spectrum, check out Bad Sheeba. We stuck the strips from stamp booklets onto his ears, and he was none too happy. A couple of belly rubs later, though, and all is forgiven.