Nectar Eaters

My yard is a zoom zone of hummingbirds. I've been stalking them with my camera. There are many flowers around the house that they like to tickle with their tongues. The current favorite is Mexican bush sage that grows in the front yard near the driveway.

Mexican sage has long, velvety, upturned stems of small, purple, pills that sporadically pop out white flowers. The hummingbirds sit, one at a time, in a large jacaranda tree above the bush, then drop down every so often for a drink from the flowers. The engine of their wings buzzes my ears like passing big rigs on a highway.

They protect this nectar hole fiercely, chasing away other hummingbirds that try to come in. I don't know how long the winner stays in the same spot or how often he is dethroned. But, throughout the day there is often a hummingbird in the jacaranda, making a frantic typewriter key clicking or a high-pitched rub-a-balloon sound.