Tuesday, September 27, 2016

Two dozen hummingbirds

 

 

All fighting for the rights to five feeders.

 

They wouldn’t pose long enough to get more than just a few in the frame at a time.

 

All want to eat.  None want any other to eat.  Mostly they just swirl, in constant flux between offense and defense.  We’re watching the behavior of an extended migrating flock.  Each day the birds are different.  It takes weeks for this flock to pass.

 

It makes me wonder; as they gather here to fuel for the long flight across the Gulf of Mexico, does their behavior change?  Does the 400 mile flight consist of individual birds, or groups of birds, intent on flying; or does the squabbling continue?  Are there thousands of little migrating masses, all fighting to be first to get across the gulf to flowers and feeders in Mexico before anyone else can?

 

No comments:

Post a Comment