The Joy of Hummingbirds

Last September I wrote a post called Saying Goodbye to Our Hummingbirds, which featured some pictures of a feisty little hummer who was the last to leave for the winter. He was so cute and I really got attached to him and missed him when he finally left. You can read about him by clicking on the link above. In April of this year, I anxiously awaited his return, and on April 20th, wrote this story about the return of our hummers ... Welcome back, Little Hummers. Yesterday, I put some fresh nectar (1/4th cup sugar to one cup of water) in our feeder and noticed that one little hummer was happily stuffing himself. I ran and got my camera and staked out the feeder which is close to our porch. I probably sat there for an hour and a half, in 90-degree temperatures, but loved every minute of it. Here are the pictures I captured of our little hummingbird. I'd like to think that he's the same little guy from last September, but I'm not sure yet. If he ever perches on the top of the shepherd's hook that's holding the feeder, I will know for sure, because that's where he spent a lot of time. I'd also like to share a little lagniappe I received during one of the hummer's feeding breaks. I noticed a little chameleon in the bay magnolia tree next to the feeder, and was delighted to capture this picture of him "stalking" a little bug (if you click on the picture to enlarge it, you can see the unsuspecting little bug) ... The bug saw him coming, though, and jumped off the branch just in the nick of time. I was glad, because I really didn't want to capture a picture of the chameleon having "brunch." I thoroughly enjoyed the antics of our little hummer, and look forward to watching him (and, hopefully, others) this summer. They are truly awesome little creatures.