LauderBlog
Apr 5: Humming Along
Nature in South Florida seemed very busy this morning, from my perspective anyway. I watched an anhinga dive into a lake to fish for his breakfast, then hold wings to the wind to dry out his feathers. I noticed a pair of turtles mating - in the water. (I guess that's the preferred location if you're a turtle. This whole thing went on much longer than you might imagine and suggested rather amazing agility and persistence. Let's just say that I was impressed.) I heard a mockingbird warbling robustly in the perfect morning air. And I watched my hummingbird too. Well, I think of him as mine, in a sense. Until recently I'd never seen a hummingbird in the wild in Florida, though the bird books say they're around. Even a hummingbird feeder at my former house in Oakland Park didn't do the trick. Now, though, a pair of hummers has taken up directly beside my condo building.
They're lovely to watch, green-breasted and so tiny you might miss them if you weren't looking closely. I'm guessing the male is maybe two inches tall. They love the Hong Kong orchid tree outside my patio, darting from one purple blossom to another. For about the past three weeks, I've seen one or both of the hummingbirds nearly any time I sit on my patio during daylight hours.
Before all this action, I had been around hummingbirds in Florida, to be honest. Lots of them. You can be around them too if you drop by Butterfly World in Coconut Creek. It's a remarkable place, both for its butterflies and its birds. Butterfly World has this nation's largest free-flight aviary for hummingbirds and you'll get up close and personal with many varieties there. They flit right by your ears, so near that you often can hear their wings beating as they pass. Of course the butterflies are the main attraction, as you might expect. Thousands from all over the world floating everywhere as you walk, even landing on you if you'll stand still long enough. But when you go to Butterfly World, don't miss the hummingbirds. I find these creatures fascinating and I'm thrilled to have a pair in my backyard now. I really have no idea how long they'll hang around these parts or if they'll return to the same place next year. I'll let you know. For the moment, I'm simply enjoying their visit to my home. And I'm hoping they're in no hurry to leave.
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