The Hummingbird Ballet

Several times a day at the hummingbird feeder, a dance is performed as the hummingbirds ( 10 at last count) zip in, around, and to the feeder to sip some hand-made nectar. Turf wars ensue. Some of the females take turns luring the males away from the feeders so they can feed in peace. Sometimes the males gang up on the females to chase them away: other times they battle one another. All the fighting frenzy and jostling for a perch position creates an arial ballet that continues all day, with short intermissions.

 I sat on the deck the other day and took the following pics in about 15 minutes' time.

a male between two females
his green colouring is darker, and his face and neck appear black with irridescent  red

a female with her tail fanned out
it seems as though the fanned tail is a challenge

here you can see the flash of irridescent red on the male's neck
this is a close-up of the pic below

this is a young female
her green is very light but still irridescent

this male is challenging the female

two males feeding together

I sure don't need to watch t.v. for entertainment!
I was changing the feeder the other day, and heard the buzzing of a hummingbird at my back. It drew closer, buzzed over my shoulder and hovered over the feeder, checking me out.
Startled, I froze, and watched the female as she perched on the feeder and began to eat. My hands were still on the feeder, and my face was less then a foot away from her. Definitely a WOW! moment!
She took several deep slurps, and watched as a second hummer flew close. It was not as brave as the first, and left before landing. After several minutes, the female had quenched her thirst and flew off into the trees, and I then returned indoors to watch them from the porch window as several hummingbirds converged on the feeder. The ballet began again.

I hope you have the joy of watching birds wherever you live.
Thanks for visiting.
Hugs from Suz