Valente

[mishalak]

I give names to the distinctive hummingbirds. In Colorado we mostly see just one kind of hummingbird, the Broadtail. They are beautiful with delicately copper-green backs, the males with a throat covered in shinny burgundy feathers, and the males also make a distinctive trilling sound as they beat their wings, unlike the gentle buzz of the females. Though they are wondrous most of them have all the personality of bees, but some behave differently enough to stand out to an interested observer.

There is a male I call Valente who is not afraid of me at all. Tonight when I was hanging the feeder with new sugar water in it he came to drink even before I was done. I stood there enjoying being able to see every perfect little feather from a vantage of about 30cm and then I moved to finish hanging it up. He didn't fly off all the way. As soon as I stopped moving he returned to feed again. I think I might see if he'd mind a close up with my camera sometime.

Comments

[mjlayman.livejournal.com]

A picture would be cool! When my upstairs neighbors moved in, the wife put up a hummingbird feeder. Luke has kept it up all these years, while she was in the nursing home and now that she's dead. It reminds him of her.