Hardhats on the Porch

Close your eyes for a moment and think back to the first time you saw Star Wars in the theater.  (You babies born after 1973 will just have to remember when you rented the DVD.)  It was the first science fiction/space movie with amazing visual effects and it took my breath away. Remember the final showdown in the sky above the death star?   I loved so much about the movie, especially the sounds.  I can still recall the sound the light sabers made in battle.

If you had been sitting on my porch with me yesterday, you’d have needed a battle helmet.  My windows were open and my first clue was a tiny, relentless chatter from more than one bird.  Have you ever actually heard a hummingbird?  When they get upset, they can be pretty intense.

But the second sound was music to my ears.  The sound of light sabers in my holly tree!  Those little wings beating about 53 times per second multiplied by three birds equals major battle noise, light saber music.

Four hummingbirds come regularly to our feeders – I have two outside my porch window.  And depending on who is the strongest one day to the next, he and his buddy or mate feed on those sources.  The others live and feed out in the live oak at the back corner of the yard.

Yesterday though, apparently three of them were feeling strong and cranky at the same time.  And none was willing to yield.  So I had a battle on my hands.

Exciting isn’t word enough to do that scene justice.  At one point all three birds had chosen branches in the holly and sat facing each other.  Then one would literally try to knock the other off the branch.  They were fighting in mid-air, swooping and diving through the holly and stopping to catch a sip of sugar water when the others were busy with each other.  I kept listening for Obi Wan to whisper, “Use the force, little bird.”

The feeders hang still this morning.  Who knows.  There may be some little hummingbird doctor working away up in the live oak, repairing torn wings and trying to talk some sense into the battle-crazed little birds.  Hello!  As I type, my feeder just had the first morning visitor.  I need to go get my toothpicks - they may need crutches.