What a treat! This hummingbird was having a meal right next to me when we were at the nursery this afternoon. He didn’t seem to care that I pulled out my camera to capture his pretty green feathers and his long black beak. He came back several times as I was browsing but he always came back to this particular plant, the bleeding heart. (make sure to click the photos to enlarge them)
“The hummingbird’s beak is exactly fitted to probe those flowers where the bird finds its food. The tongue has the outer edges curved over, making a tube on each side.”
Handbook of Nature Study, page 115
The Handbook of Nature Study has a whole section on hummingbirds, pages 115-117.
There is also section on the bleeding heart, pages 558-560.
We had a very enjoyable afternoon picking out a few new plants for our garden. I will have to share about those after I get them planted in the ground. 🙂
That’s amazing! I love them!!! They are my favorite bird!
I guess him getting his food was worth not paying any mind to you… I bet he is used to people if he eats there regularly *Ãœ*
Great moment captured… and at a store! lol that cracks me up… just goes to show you, nature is all around us hu??
Beautiful! And, what a treat. Have fun with your garden… and the hummingbirds!
Wow! How exciting!!
Very cool! I have only seen one hummingbird so far this year and I have the feeder out for them, but I hope once more things are blooming, they’ll be here in full force!
What a wonderful thing to have happen while shopping for plants.
Beautiful pictures! 🙂 I can almost hear the hum….
Beautiful pictures Barb! What a treat to see a little hummingbird!
Rachael.
Hi Barb,
Me again! I just came across this lovely post on Gardening for Hummingbirds. It was linked through from Debbie Taylor Hough’s Charlotte Mason Monthly newsletter. Here is the link: http://grandmotherwren.com/?p=143
I wish we could get hummingbirds here! We do however, have many unique birds in NZ and I plan to start a series of blog posts on some of them – expecially for all you American ladies that had never heard of our delightful fantail 🙂
Blessings,
Rachael.