A good bird day for so late in summer. First I heard the yard Robins getting all alarmed and nervous. There were loud chirps coming from at least four places. Thinking a cat had come by...usually the wrens tell me about cats, but hey, you never know...I got up and went outside.
I didn't see a cat, but I rattled my shaker stick, just in case.
Out of the honey locust, very low...just over head level, flew a large, brown bird.
It was so low that I was looking at a rear profile so to speak, as it labored away. Once it gained altitude it was revealed as a Red-tailed Hawk. Thanks Robins! I expect it was checking out the kids' little chickens and turkey poults.
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| Duck fight up at the lake. Somebody got too close to the Black Duck's ducklings |
Then, as I was listening and watching from the sitting porch the male Ruby-throated Hummingbird did a courtship flight right in front of me, just a few feet away.
Wow, it was loud and fast and very dramatic.
When he was done, he sat on the string on the porch, where he likes to roost, and flared his throat feathers. No trouble seeing where he got his name!
A few minutes later the little female stopped in for a sip at the feeder. He flew out of nowhere, flying so hard and fast that they almost hit me in the head.
Okay, love is in the air and all, but I would be thankful if it was not in my ear.
2 comments:
While on the porch sometime last week, we had a female Ruby-throated Hummingbird show up for the first time all summer. THe male had been a regular visitor.(I've since learned that males and females have their own territorites and she might have been feeding elsewhere.)
Well, the male took exception to fair damsel at HIS feeder. ZOOM! THWACK! He smacked right into her and they both went off into the woods like two jet fighters in aerial combat!
Joated, they are such violent little birds! Maybe they have to be to survive.... I don't know if you have ever seen the courtship dance flight, but it was really dramatic. Very loud, incredibly fast, and really neat. A new one for me.
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