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one baaaad hummer



Hi y'all,
    This eve shortly after 5:00, I observed two most impressive birds in our
backyard. Perched in a bare branch at the very highest point of a 50+ yr.
old sycamore was a bird that looked to be about the size of a male Common
Grackle (my view was toward the WSW.) From a prudently chosen perch a few
feet away, a Ruby-throated hummer was flying sorties, apparently with the
intent of dislodging this being that would be so foolish as to enter his
domain. After watching the hummer make a cpl of passes, I thought I'd get my
binos and take a closer look. The object of the tiny tyrant's wrath wasn't a
grackle, but a young Merlin trying to get started on its House
Sparrow-looking dinner! This continued for a minute or so (hummer buzzing up
from behind, Merlin turning its head to see what the heck that thing is on
its nape) 'til a pair of Blue Jays and a small contingent of grackles helped
convince the Merlin to vacate the premises. As it did so, you-know-who was
hot on its tail 'til they disappeared from my field of view.
    Shortly afterwards, I got the in-your-face,
back-away-slowly-and-nobody-gets-hurt treatment from the miniature monster.
    I wanna be a hummingbird when I grow up...

;)

Cheers,
gary

Gary Phillips
Conway, SC
 Zone 8
walela@sccoast.net
"Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing's going to get
better. It's not." (Dr. Seuss, "The Lorax")