see there? let's go a bit closer:
since i put up a hummingbird feeder, this lady has been hanging around. it's a female ruby-throated hummingbird, which are relatively common in this area of the country. we haven't seen any males of the species yet, which look similar from the neck down but have dark heads and brilliant red necks (hence the name, obviously).
the feeder (which some readers may find familiar) is along the sidewalk between the house and the garage, and i've been changing out the sugar water several times a week. so far, we've just seen the female, although i don't know if it has been the same one each time. when i spied her this morning, i tip-toed out on the deck to get a picture, but she saw me immediately and retreated to her perch in the nearby spruce (as seen above). i waited outside, motionless, for her to return to the feeder, but she never budged. and judging by the way she kept staring directly at me, it was quite obvious that she saw me and was waiting for me to leave. my bright tie-dye t-shirt probably didn't help.
fun facts: hummingbirds will aggressively defend their favorite food sources from intruders, which can include other hummingbirds, bees, butterflies, cars, and even humans (i haven't been attacked yet, but i only change/refill the sugar water after the sun goes down). they beat their wings up to 80 times per minute [update: error. the fastest hummingbirds beat their wings at 80 times per second, not minute. ruby-throated hummingbirds clock at about 50 times per second.], although "beat" is a misnomer: they actually move their wings in a figure-eight at an extremely high frequency (cough). their hearts beat an insane 1200 times per minute! that helps explain the need for a high-sugar diet. however, when resting, their heart rate drops to around 50 beats per minute. evolution is so weird.
anyway, as soon as i came back inside, she immediately returned to the feeder, and the following pictures were taken through the storm door.
the bright green back and black/white tail feathers that help identify the ruby-throated hummingbird are clearly visible.
in this last shot, it appears that part of the hummingbird's tongue is visible. hummingbird tongues are up to twice as long as their beaks, and they use them to lap up nectar (or in this case, sugar water). the tongue can lap as fast as 13 times per second. i'm just going to leave that factoid there without further commentary.
hopefully we'll be seeing more of our lady hummingbird friend (and her friends as well). but if you thought i'd end this post without more garden insect pics, you were wrong:
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