A couple of nights ago, Hannah started yelling that there was a hummingbird in our flower garden. I ran to the window, but didn't see anything. Well, yesterday afternoon, I was walking past the window, and happened to look out right as a black and white hummingbird was flying by, en route to my red canna plants. I hurried to the office to grab my camera, and was in position to snap a few shots, when Dawson came out the door and let out a big "Mom what're you doing?" which scared the bird away.
Last night, the kids and I went for ice cream, and were sitting on the porch swing when we saw another hummingbird dining on my pink Naked Lady Lilies. (On a side note, the naked lady lilies came with our house, and there were only a handful of them when we moved in back in 2005. They have steadily multiplied, and I have around 135 this year) I ran inside and grabbed my camera, and proceeded to snap several great shots of what I thought was a hummingbird. I was able to get very close to this creature, and not startle it, which was my first tip off that this was not a normal hummingbird. As I was snapping the photos, a second one joined the first, so I was able to take some great shots of both.
After they filled their tummies and flew away, I went inside and uploaded the photos to the computer so I could see what the creature looked like. It's wings were beating so fast, and it was flying so quickly, that I wasn't able to get a good look at it, but my camera did. I was amazed with what the camera caught. What I though was a hummingbird was actually a species of moth known as the Sphinx or Hawk moth, but is more commonly known as the Hummingbird Moth, because of it has similar characteristics to the hummingbird. 
From what I have read, these moths are very rarely seen because they fly at night, or at dusk, when there is an overcast sky, as it was last night. Although I was hoping to see a hummingbird, this was still a wonderful thrill for this nature lover.
Other than the quick glimpse yesterday afternoon, I haven't seen a hummingbird since we moved back here from Missouri. They are the most beautiful creatures, and I hope to see the one that visited here yesterday again.
2 comments:
When you come over for the cookout I need some help with deciding how to landscape (flowers). Figure we've been in the house for almost 6 years - it's time to landscape!
I would love to. Most of my flowers are bulbs, so I plant them once, and they just keep coming back. Then, I just fill in with store bought plants and flowers, once I see where the bare spots are needed. I love tulips, but they have already come and gone for the season.
I purchased an all season flower garden from Spring Hill Nursery over the internet a couple of years ago, and that's where most of the bulbs came from. They include bulbs and plants that will blookm from spring until fall. It was a huge undertaking to plant it all, but it was well worth it now. :)
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