Our fascinating hummingbirds...

We have been delighted this past week with the antics of our hummingbirds that are attracted to our bright red menarda blossoms. For a long time we were seeing them one at a time, but began to realize that there were several different ones feeding here. That became apparent one evening at supper time as we watched them. One little guy would dive-bomb another to chase it away. A couple of them even took turns perching on the trellis to "guard" the territory waiting for its mate to come to take a turn to feed. In fact, they have gone after the sparrows who have ventured too close! No larger than my thumb, these tiny creatures are truly fascinating. The ruby-throated hummingbird weighs only as much as a copper penny. His nest is the size of half a walnut and is made mostly of bud scales and bits of lichen cemented together with cobweb material. Two pea-size eggs are laid and uncubated by the female producing babies no larger than a bumblebee which are fed by their mother for only ten days. We see the mom coming approximately every 15 minutes performing this ritual. Most fascinating about these tiny creatures (besides their incredibly long migration to South America) is their skillful ability in flight. Little Hummer can fly forward, backward, upside-down and stright up like a helicopter, and she can even remain suspended in the air with her wings moving so fast you can barely see them! Unlike other birds, she doesn't even have to slow down to stop; she can approach her perch at full speed, abruptly stop, and start up again just as quickly.
Kind of reinforces one's belief in "Intelligent Design", doesn't it?