Yeeewwwww

I was asked yesterday about my solar fountain. I made it myself for pretty cheap. Basically I got everything off Amazon. You will need a way to put a hole in the center of the plate and silicone mat to run the pump through but it's pretty easy. I used a soldering iron to melt a hole in the center of the plate. Also I purchased my plate at dollar tree but included a Amazon picture of one like I used. Hope this helps.

I've not seen him before today. But he has interesting markings, and his crown is spiked like Joe Strummer.

These pics are from the past week and these two male Anna’s will call for each other, someone shows up then they yell at each other and hangout for a while. Idk what the whole thing is with these two guys! Are they twins? Are they brothers? Lovers? What is this behavior? Lmao I’m just so curious and intrigued by it. I’m also shocked but they come and hangout with me daily too for hours! yeah they dig out n do there thing but they always show back up and always in the same area of the tree.

He loves both the feeder and the petunias

Vancouver Island.

Canon R5, RF 100-500.

Crazy it's still warm enough in Oregon for a bath near the end of October.

It’s been windy so he’s a little on edge but he’s enjoying the desert autumn since that means his nectar never gets too warm (but if it does I replace it daily, hehe).

Without Color
Without Color is a series of photographs of Costa’s and Allen’s hummingbirds taken at the Moorten Botanical Garden in Palm Springs and the California Botanic Garden in Claremont.

My aim is to present the hummingbird as it actually is. A solitary messenger, a singular presence with an unyielding but unconscious desire to proliferate life through its activities as a pollinator.

We often see the hummingbird and are distracted by its beautiful coloration, its acrobatic aerial abilities, and, I’m going to be blunt here, its undeniably, painfully adorable and endearing tiny body, face, and wings.

But without color, you can begin to notice its attentive stances, its determined expressions, and its awareness of the realities of its life.

What we don’t normally see is the harsh nature of its existence.

Besides a brief period early in life when its mother protects, nurtures, and feeds it, the remainder of its life is a constant battle. Its territorial nature, its capable but fragile body, and its need for constant nutrition ensure that survival is never guaranteed.

I invite viewers of this series to take a moment and examine the hummingbird as a solitary being, perfectly evolved, in an almost cruel way, to perform its task. Its existence helps ensure that the plants, flowers, and pollen-producing trees that depend on it have a chance to survive and flourish.

These tiny pollen couriers depend on the very things that depend on them. Their existence is intertwined with the life they help proliferate, bound together by their biological need to forage for nectar and nutrients from nature.

Slo-mo of our hummingbird before leaving us.

Does this look like a little fledgling? Super round and puffy…He started hanging out here yesterday and moves very slow in flight 😆 not easily spooked and seems a little sloppy with its feet. I think the mother is my usual guarder and she’s been buzzing around bothering him trying to get him to go back to their palm tree lol!

All of my regulars are gone, except for one juvenile male (1st pic) I had two new juveniles show up today tho. One of them needs to fatten up some more (2nd pic). I hope he sticks around bit. I'll happily feed him. Haha.

I’ve caught this ruby-throated hummingbird in Clinton County, MI on 10/3, 10/11, 10/18, and again today the 19th. Two more days will match the latest recording since 2018 with records having been kept since 2001. I’ve named her Mamma June, for what I feel are obvious reasons.