The Ruby-throated Hummingbirds have been putting on quite a show this afternoon following another heavy thunderstorm that moved though the area. At least 8-10 are fighting over the six feeders. I've only seen 3 males with the rest of the crew made up of females and immatures.
A pair of immature males has been the most entertaining. One will be on the feeder when it is dive-bombed by the other and they begin this midair joust were they face off and fly about 20 to 30 feet straight up. Sometimes they will slowly descend and repeat the score. Other times they come tumbling down in the grasp of one another, not letting lose of each other until they almost hit the ground. I have noticed that a couple of the feeders have seen a changing of the guard in the last few days. The feeder outside my computer room window is presently owned by a immature male. It was the domain of an adult male (no way to tell if it was the same one) for the last several months.
It's amazing how much fun you can have with some water and a couple of pounds of sugar!
Several weeks go my brother called telling me about this strange looking butterfly or moth that was hanging from the hand rail to his workshop. His description was quite vivid and I knew I had to run over there in hopes of getting a few pictures. You know how these things work, you get there and its gone. Well not this time. It was actual still hanging in the very same spot. I took several pictures of this beautiful creature not knowing what it was. After 15 minutes of shooting pictures my brother and I went inside his house and got on the Internet in hopes of identifying this brillant wonder.
Turns out it is a Cecopia Moth, the largest moth in North American. Why did it defy "Murphy's Law" and not fly off? Cecopia Moths only fly at night. Other strange but true facts are that it only lives for two weeks and it has no mouth or proboscis to feed. Its only purpose in their adult life is to mate and perpetuate the species. And what a beautiful species it is!
