A chance of rain

 

 

 

 

 

In this bush

 

 

There is a Chachalaca.

 

 

It’s a big chickenlike bird.  It ranges from the south tip of Texas down through Eastern Mexico to the Yucatan Peninsula.  Noisy at dusk and dawn, it sits quietly in cover during a hot summer day.

 

 

Not really visible in the first picture, it appears in the one above.

 

 

And now we can see another one right below it.

 

 

These are the only ones I saw, but there could be so many more that went unnoticed.

 

Another thought

 

 

We have four hummingbird feeders up.  I refill at least one of them every day.  Usually, the hummingbird food is room temperature.  Sometimes it’s still a little warm from the stove, but not much.  Yesterday we had some left over, so I put it in the fridge.  Today I got it out, refilled a feeder, and hung it back up outside.  That made me wonder.  If hummingbirds drink ice cold nectar too fast, do they get tiny little headaches behind their eyes?

 

And the beat goes on

 

 

 

 

At about 50 beats per second.

 

 

 

 

 

The charming little creatures are so focused on food that a person can stand right next to the hanging feeder, and they will continue to buzz about all around and in front of that person’s head.  A tiny cacophony of chattering, buzzing of the wings, and the occasional splat as two birds meet midair, each vying for the right to feed exclusively at the nearby never-ending food source.  (And while they’re battling, ten other birds are standing quietly on the feeder eating.)  High drama.  And nerves of steel required of the observer to stand in the middle of such an intense random dart game without flinching.

 

And the Texas Firebush

 

 

 

The orange, red, and yellow colors are attractive to hummingbirds.  The long tubular flowers, that never open any more than this, are not available to anyone else, but perfectly suited to hummingbirds.

 

For comparison

 

 

Here is a native yellow Esperanza.  Also known as a yellow bell.

 

 

Same big trumpet shaped flowers.

 

 

And, bonus, a big black carpenter bee.  A good pollinator.

 

 

Pretty much solitary.  They don’t live in hives like honeybees.  They make their nest holes in exposed wood.  That’s why they’re called carpenter bees.  Not a problem unless the exposed wood happens to be on your house.

 

Esperanza flowers are usually yellow

 

 

The ones in our yard are orange.