Birds big and small

I was able to capture this picture of the hummingbird's wings in flight (click to enlarge) last week when he came to check out my flowers. I  believe this is a rufous hummer (although I could be wrong), and he's the same one who came within inches of my face while checking me out. He flew away when I introduced myself.

There is something about the flight characteristics of hummingbirds that reminds me of a giant mosquito, although far more lovely and plus they don't bite. One of my Flickr friends got a picture of a hummer with his incredibly long tongue sticking out. They really do have amazingly long tongues. I snagged this picture off the Castellow Hammock Nature Center.

See what I mean? This gives them the ability to reach WAY down inside those flowers for the nectar as they hover. I love these guys, and they do indeed brighten my days, watching for them as I gaze out the window at my usual visitors, the goldfinches, nuthatches, chickadees, towhees, and yes, even the sparrows.

This is a recent picture, taken this week by boonibarb on Flickr, of my little eaglet nicknamed "Phoenix." We watched him (her?) hatch at the end of April on the Hornby Eagle web cam. He is peering over the edge of the nest in this picture, wondering when Mom or Dad will be bringing some food. This young eaglet will fledge in a few more weeks. Right now he stretches his incredible wings daily and hops up and down, getting ready for the big day. I am just about ready to stop watching the site, because I've become very attached to this little guy, and fledging is a very intense time when a young eaglet doesn't always make it.

When he strays too close to the edge, I want to stop him, or if his parents make him wait a little too long for his dinner, I get stressed out. I'm not alone; there is a chat room and I listen to (actually read) what the others have to say, and I realize that we are all watching this saga closely. Last year I stopped watching another eagle cam at about this time, because the three eaglets had become way too important to me. One hatched a week later than the others and was nicknamed "Tink" by the eagle cam addicts. You realize very quickly that you are not watching a Disney movie but real life, when anything can happen.

But, that said, I truly enjoy my excursions into the life of the birds, large and small, and I even love the hawk that sometimes comes over to dine on my well-fed little birdies. I posted this picture a while back of an immature Cooper's Hawk, taken through the bedroom window with my telephoto lens.

Enjoy your weekend! I hope the weather is wonderful in your part of the world, and that you have some feathered friends to keep you company, too.
:-)