The Reason

I have always thought hummingbirds were the most amazing things. The smallest bird in the world is reason enough, I guess, but there's so much more. The east coast where I live is home to only one species, the Ruby Throat. There are occasional strays, mostly the Rufous hummingbird from out west, but the Ruby Throat is the only one I have ever seen.

My brief experience with them began in Ohio, when I lived there, but it was only for a month or so, before they migrated south for the winter. When we moved to the Northern Neck of Virginia, I decided to invest some time in feeding them to see if I could attract them to our yard.

It took very little time before they showed up, and I was given the opportunity to see them up close and personal. This was Henry. A first summer male who began growing his red gorget feathers before the migration south, the summer of 2011, this photo taken late in the summer. This holly bush was outside the kitchen window, and I was able to set my camera up on the tripod, and he very patiently let me snap photos of him nearly every day. He'd show up with pollen on his head, like in this photo, little bits of things stuck to his beak or feathers, and would enjoy a run through the mister that I attached to the garden hose to provide water for them when it was hot and dry.

Henry again, and how we began the hand feeding experiment. His first red gorget feather is right in the middle, at the base of his neck. He was pretty brave, and was the only one for a few days that would take the chance and drink while I held the feeder.

I had my camera on the tripod, sitting on the front steps. It was right up in my face and proved to be quite a balancing act to focus it, and hold the feeder. Henry is coming in at 12 o'clock in this photo above, for what would be his first landing on my fingers. You can see his first red gorget feather at the base of his neck. They don't get a full throat until their second summer. I'm glad I was there for his first. 

He tolerated a LOT from me and the camera, which made clicks and buzzes as it focused. He looked up a few times, but mostly was interested in drinking. I did  have an over-shirt that I put on every time I went outside to fill the feeders or to try and hand feed them. Maybe it didn't matter, but I thought if I was the same each time, they would get used to me more quickly. We had several other RTs, but Henry was the one who was least bothered by my interaction with him. I hope he made the trip south and back for another summer on the river. ©pegyates2012/photos/content