Close to Nature...

Many of you probably feed the hummingbirds during this time of year in this part of the country, but today I was able to get up close and personal with our hummingbirds with camera in hand.

One of the hummingbirds actually flew round and round me while I was filling up the feeder, I think he thought I was stealing his food! LOL!

This first little precious bird is very plainly colored, kind of taupe and off-white. This one seems really gentle, and actually ate while I was standing right there nearby - seemingly with little concern. You can see in the pic above that she is peeking around at me in between drinks just to keep an eye on what I might be up to...

Another drink, another peek out of the corner of her eye! LOL!

This second little bird is a bit more colorful, both in plumage and in personality. He doesn't like to share the food, and he was very concerned about my standing so close-by! I actually took some video with my camera and I wish I knew how to load it on here; if I figure it out I'll add it later. Anyway, I have footage of him zooming around the feeder, afraid to land because I was too close, and then he got brave and started dive-bombing me! I just knew I was going to get pecked in the head. The sound of a hummingbird zooming down and around your head is unique indeed! Anyway, he is not nice to the other little bird either. He runs her off , actually hit her once as he chased her while I was watching. Don't be deceived by his seemingly quiet and unassuming manner in the picture below! LOL!

This next picture is of him flying. It is a bit blurry, as he was moving REALLY fast! you can just see the blur of his wings. It amazes me how fast they can move!

And last, but certainly most obnoxious, is the nasty red wasp. I truly got a nature show while standing out by the little feeder. A red wasp would fly up while the birds were feeding at different times, and would chase the birds away. Then, another red wasp decided it was hungry, and tried to feed. Well, these critters apparently don't tolerate one another either - sharing is definitely not in the vocabulary. I cannot even describe it to you in a way that will really give you a true picture of what it looked like. One red wasp would fly at the other, and they don't mind hitting each other, then they would actually lock up like a couple of kids fighting - even a few times hitting the ground and rolling on the ground fighting. I cannot tell you how much it looked like people fighting - it was HILARIOUS! I was remaining very still during this whole event - as still as possible that is - with the occasional duck of the head. I finally stepped back a few feet because a couple of angry red wasps were not exactly something I wanted to come into contact with me accidentally! They would probably forget all about each other and start stinging me! Well, maybe not. It wasn't a risk I was willing to take anyway.

It was very upsetting to see the wasps chase off the birds, and very upsetting to see one bird chase away another bird, but that's how it is in nature I suppose. I'm just glad to have had my brief little glimpse today into the wild kingdom of rural America, and to have had a chance to get so close to some of God's creatures - although I have no desire to ever again see the red wasp any closer than I did today!