Hummingbirds PI

Ok, it's not one day since the last post.  So I will never say that again.

On to more important matters.  I have watched a lot of hummingbirds this summer.  I have learned a LOT about them.  First, we have more than your standard Roofus hanging around. At one point, we had nine in our yard by our feeders and I could tell three different kinds.

Hummingbirds are not really animal savvy.  They would dive bomb me with the cat on my lap, go right by Penny's mouth, and get waaay to close to Pumpkin than I cared for.  They must be moving on, because I only count two or three these days.  

No wonder they have to eat constantly.  They wouldn't need so much energy if they'd quit chasing each other off the feeders.  Silly birds.

Birds and Bees sharing...

Coming in for a landing...looks like a duck.

My tailfeathers are bigger than yours...

Fuzzybutt

I don't know if this was a juvenile, just floofing to keep warm, or dry off from something.

It has been a true gift this year.  I wasn't saying that when I was refilling the feeders and dumping sugar water on my head.  I miss my big group of hummingbirds now that I'm back at scheduled work.

Part II - until we meet again.

Sasquatch, Loch Ness, have NOTHING on you Bumbler

We've all heard the term “fish story.” We've heard about Sasquatch and the Loch Ness Monster. Now you can add “Gargantuan Bumbler” to the list.

I have no photographic proof of it's bad ass self FOR NOW. It has now become the stuff of legends, and I will not rest until I can produce a picture of it. Of course, this hobby will be severely limited in Idaho between October and April. None the less, I will be searching.

This Gargantuan Bumbler was HUGE. No joke, its first segment (head) was as big as my pinky nail. I did the only reasonable thing and waited for it to alight onto a sunflower and pet it.

Hence, this gives rise to my other little hobby in the garden. Each year I pick out the biggest bumblebee I can, and I scritch its head. Just a little skerfluffle on the noggin. They don't seem to mind, and I find it quite fun. They are spiky/fuzzy, with a constant vibration. This year, I've done it to two bumblebees.

Since I was too busy petting this Gargantuan Bumbler, I did not get a picture. You will just have to suffice with regular, average bees and bumblebees.

All of the bee pictures were taken with the old Canon Rebel XTi with a 100mm/2.8 macro lens.  I have a picture of a wasp nest that is really cool, but I think I'll save that for Facebook so I can freak out the largest amount of people that I can. : )

Speaking of Gargantuan, I have a very large sunflower in my yard.  We measured it a week ago at 12'4".  This picture was taken a week before that when it was about 11'8".

Here are some more random sunflower pictures.  See you tomorrow, for a hummingbird safari installment!