Saturday, February 16, 2008
HUMMING LOVE
The hummingbirds are mating.
Even in normal times it is all you can do to avoid getting hit by a fly by.
Now it is even more hazardous. They come in pairs.
Actually, I am not sure whether what I am seeing is the mating or the prenuptial dueling between the males.
It is pretty hard to detect hummingbird gender. They won't sit still for me to look and the markings are not that different. They all glow.
They are wild creatures. Heedless of obstructions. They dodge and dart and make passes at each other.
Maybe this is where the term 'made a pass at' comes from.
I am not sure when or where the actual consummation takes place.
I hope somewhere nice and peaceful.
But that would be against the hummingbird grain.
Quiet meditation does not seem to be their thing.
The only times I ever see them at rest is at the water fountain where they sit and bathe and flutter and shake. A drink or two and then off they go.
They are great creatures.
We do not feed them. They are here because they want to be. We have lots of flowers to suck on.
I have been a long adherent to the belief that a fed bird is a dead bird.
I know that is disputed in the northeast where people rationalize their bird watching on the basis that there is no food available for them otherwise.
That is OK. Just don't be delusional.
Here there is no such excuse. Nor is one needed.
I like it to be natural wherever it can be.
Don't mess with Mother Nature.
Labels: nature