Aerial Battles

Ruby-throated hummingbird, female

The heat let up just a bit today - it was only in the high 80's and the humidity was definitely down. Still not a day where you could do much outside, but not as miserable as the past few days. I spent the morning in the office getting some work done then the afternoon playing. My kind of day!

More and more of my perennials are starting to bloom in the butterfly garden and the sunflowers (bonus plants from the spilled birdseed this winter) are opening up. And all of that means pollinators everywhere - which means a dilemma when it comes to choosing just one photo to remember the day. I got some beautiful shots (if I do say so myself, albeit humbly) shots of a great spangled fritillary butterfly and also a shot of a pondhawk dragon in the lilies and either of these would have been good choices today.

But, I opted for this shot - not technically as good as the other two, but a hard shot to get and one that I like very much. All of the baby hummingbirds have fledged in the last week and the action on the patio/deck/garden has become crazy. This shot was taken while two hummers were engaged in battle over one of the feeders. I was not able to get both birds in the frame and this was the only shot that was reasonable well focused but it does show how agile they are. She was traveling backwards when I took this, and contorted completely around in a classic defensive posture.

If you'd like to see my other 8 picks for today, they are posted on Flickr, starting HERE.

Three more days until my BIL and SIL arrive - can't wait to see them both!

Last year's blip was a little brown skipper in the garden

Happy Monday...

xxoo
Debbi