Life On The Patio
lessons learned through the years, living the country life, LIFE is about people
Lil’ Blue and The Hummingbirds
Lil’ Blue has been frequenting our patio hummingbird feeder for two summers now. Last summer he would follow along with his friend Greenie. We haven’t seen Greenie much this year but Lil’ Blue comes around at least two or three times a day.
Lately, he stops, midair, and just looks at me sitting below.
Each day he gets closer and closer to where I sit and we have short conversations…he is always the listener in the convo though while he flutters. When he comes solely to drink he arrives with a friend, they dive to the feeder, Blue drinks first, darts to the big oak tree and his friend sips from the feeder then chases after Lil’ Blue.
I recently saw some information about the characteristics and behaviors of hummingbirds and our hummingbirds just don’t fit the mold as they do like to spend time together. It almost appears as if they are best buddies or maybe family.
Fun facts, behaviors, and characteristics of the hummingbird...
Hummingbirds are not found in Europe, Asia, Australia, or Antarctica.
Hummingbirds are called hummingbirds because of the sound they create by their rapidly beating wings. I just love that sound.
A flock of hummingbirds is called a charm, a glittering, or a bouquet. Well of course! They are very ‘charming’ even by themselves😊.
A female hummingbird will many times make more than one nest using the extra one as a decoy to keep herself and her eggs safe from predators. They are fierce protectors of their young ones. Just like most human mammas.
Hummingbirds cannot walk or hop. Ha!, maybe that is why we relate so well with each other😊
Hummingbirds have strong recall capabilities. They are very smart and are able to remember people and places from year to year. I feel like I have a real connection with these little ‘guys’.
They are able to see things into the ultraviolet range and are attracted to the color red. Yet another reason I love them❤️.
Many of them sport beautiful colors such as Greenie💚. She has the most beautiful green I have seen in a long time all along her back and chest. And, we gave Lil Blue his name because of his blue body.
I found the above picture on Pinterest and it comes the closest to what Greenie amd Lil Blue look like.
They are the only bird that can fly backwards. Another reason we get along so well. They like to do things differently. They are the smallest migrating bird and they are known to travel alone for up to 500 miles at a time. I, too, love traveling many miles at a time😄.
Hummingbirds can travel as fast as 30 mph and when in a dive, up to 60 mph.
Despite their smallness, they are a very aggressive bird and have been known to attack much larger birds like crows, jay, and even hawks. The other day while Lil’ Blue was visiting me, a wasp came up. At that point, Lil’ Blue went to the feeder, the wasp followed and Lil’ Blue attacked him. The wasp flew on quickly. You just don’t mess with Lil’ Blue or any of the hummingbirds. I also saw him and another bird fluttering about in the tree. That bird was much bigger but Lil’ Blue didn’t hesitate to ‘push’ him out of the way.
I’ve learned many a lesson by watching and interacting with these beautiful, smart, and courageous birds.
I’ve learned to have courage and to stand up for what I need and place boundaries in ‘my territory’ (my space, my time, my life so that others don’t trample). I’ve learned to be strong and stand up for what is right especially if someone is doing wrong to another. I’ve learned to slow down and interact with nature.
Another lesson learned: ‘do what you can and not be concerned about the things that you can’t’ do. These amazing birds use what they have and do quite well.
And, one of the biggest lessons learned from these tiny little creatures is to use all our senses, talents, gifts and attributes we are given to experience life to its fullest each and every day.
Have a wonderful rest of the week☀️💚☀️, take some time to look around and enjoy the beauty and lessons.
Wonderful post. Love the little humming birds. I think there are a lot of little creatures in nature that we can learn lessons from.
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I so agree with you Peggy. I learn from many of them out here. Thank you😊. I am so glad you liked it☀️💚☀️
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Awesome little guys!
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Great photos of a difficult subject to catch. Thanks for sharing. Allan
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Thank you but I’ve seen so many really good pictures of them. I am
Thinking about getting a camera to set up out there so we can get up close pics of them☀️💚☀️
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They are such amazing creatures, Diane, and I love watching them, too. I am a little sad because they will be leaving us soon. Maybe your are there year-round, since Texas is much warmer in the winter than Colorado?
I like your “lessons learned.” Animals can teach us a lot!
Best wishes,
Tanja
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Hi Tanja, thank you. I do enjoying learning😊 yes we have them until about the end of October but since we are North Texas they leave us until March so I feel the sadness too when they leave but am excited when I know they are coming back in March. If we had them all year I wouldn’t get to feel the joy when the first one returns like Greenie did in March and came up to our patio door and stayed for a few seconds. It’s was so exciting😊. ☀️💚☀️.
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Thanks for the clarification. Absence makes the heart grow fonder–right?!
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I think its great that they will get that close to you–and to talk to them.
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I know! Last year I had to be so still while they drank from the feeder. This year they just
Come and flutter about a foot
Above my head. It’s such a cool feeling☀️💚☀️
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Never underestimate the power of the small and mighty! 😊
That includes me at 5′ 2″. 😅
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😂, me too!!!
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I am so happy to read this post. We have a hummingbird feeder outside our kitchen window and we can see it from the table where we eat most of our meals. We still have the feeder out but there are no hummers coming now. They may have started their journey south. But we have been told that it is god to leave the feeder out through September in case of hummers migrating from farther north. I look forward to seeing them again next spring.
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I’m so glad you liked the post. Not sure where you are but we are still getting hummingbirds. We have lil Blue, Greenie, lil green, and now red…the tiniest of them all. There are also two others that are mostly grey with colors on their head but they move so quickly we haven’t been able to see what color yet😄. I love where you have placed yours.
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We live in Southern Ontario, Canada. The nights are pretty cool now though we still have warm days.
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I love Canada, when we lived in Michigan, we would cross the border and go to Windsor and Toronto. Beautiful country.
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Thank you. I grew up on the West Coast and then moved to England. I came to Ontario for a job of two months and then met the man who is my husband and I’ve never left!
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What a wonderful story! Thanks for sharing it😊
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