Happy Bird Day

A nice photo, courtesy of Ron Austing. Well, it says I notice stuff, so today, and yesterday, I noticed lots of hummingbirds in the garden in front of work. I've seen more HB's in the last 2 days than I've seen in my entire life so far. They're all Ruby Throated hummingbirds(Archilochus colubris), which are the only HB's that are native to this area. This is the time of year that they migrate. The only reason I can think of that I'm seeing so many of them this year is that the last 3 days have been really windy, and they've gotten blown off course. Or maybe I just didn't notice them in the last 4 falls I've worked where I work, but I'm pretty observant about stuff like that.

I work in Evanston, which is on the shore of Lake Michigan, which is also a major flyway for migratory birds of all stripes. Lots of hawks and owls use this flyway, too. If the damn things would only hold still, I could maybe tell you what kind they were. If the HB's use the Mississippi flyway, then the windiness of the last few days could explain their presence here.

They are attracted to the Salvia and the "Mexican Petunias" that are in the planters. I'm not a hummingbird nut, but they're very amazing little creatures. They look like overly large bugs, they flit in and flit out almost before you have the time to realise that they're little birds. I did see one visit the Mexican Petunias, then flit up to a tree branch and sit there for about 30 seconds. That's about as long as they rest, unless they're sitting on their pea-sized eggs.

I just imagine the little suckers hurling themselves across the Gulf of Mexico, on their way south.