Date: 09/15/2021

Number: 4

Today was a much quieter day than yesterday. As I reported yesterday, my gang of rubies were in a tizzy. I suspected that we had travelers coming through that had my resident rubies quite alarmed and upset. Not nearly as much chasing and fighting today. We have at least 4 remaining; I think probably more like 6. And we're down to just females; actually, I think we've only got juvenile females left. Our resident adult male, Sparky, departed on the 7th for his journey. I haven't seen our two juvenile males around either in awhile, honestly. I am not certain if our Mama ruby hummer (Miss Shimmer) is still with us or not. She is very elusive and her daughters are definitely looking much more like her these days.

Of the birds that we have remaining, there are three juvenile females who are reliable to observe. They all have their favorite perches near their respective feeders and they guard their feeders with some serious determination. They are in different corners of our yard (2 in the front and 1 in the back). Two of the juvenile females have become my buddies and actually look for me. If I'm outside, they will perch very close by where I am and will sit with me. One, who I call Squeak, squeaks for me and now even follows me around the yard in the early evening when I'm watering flowers and taking care of bird feeders. She seems to really enjoy my company. I know it may sound crazy, but it's definitely the truth. The third one stays a bit hidden right above a feeder in a Japanese Maple. She dive bombs any hummer who approaches her feeder. She watches me, but won't get as close as the other two.

There are also others who are more elusive and stick to the back of the property where there are 2 additional feeders. I see them and hear them, but they keep their distance.

I already miss Sparky and Miss Shimmer and I will miss these spunky and sweet juvenile females when they leave too. I pray for them every day and hope they have smooth and pleasant journeys.

Kernersville, NC

Latitude: 36.1 Longitude: -80.1

Observed by: Sophie
Contact Observer

The observer's e-mail address will not be disclosed.
Contact will be made through a web-based form.