Red Aggressor

Day 181: It wouldn't be bad if there were only three or four of them, but there are...wait, that was number 32,794 who just zipped by...there are DOZENS of them, and they're all in bad moods, driven by the biological imperative to attack each other, the Anna's, Evening Grosbeaks, Steller's Jays and even me if I happen to be trying to hang up a refilled feeder. Sitting at the rigid heddle loom with my back to the front window, I could be excused for thinking there was a logging operation going on in my front yard, so loud is the buzz and whir. I've mentioned previously that there seem to be an inordinate number of birds in my yard presently, and that includes a veritable swarm of Rufous Hummingbirds (mostly male). Their most active period is at dusk, each trying to seize a spot in the queue for the feeders but being so preoccupied with defending their territory against all comers that only a lucky few actually reach a port. They say that red is the colour of aggression; Rufous is out to prove it.

Red's Branch

Day 240: I have to admit to cheating here. I don't usually doctor nature photos unless it's to remove small bits of dirt or holes from leaves and petals, and even that is something I do rarely, preferring to show the specimen exactly as I saw it. However, Red is just cute as a bug's ear, and his preferred shelter is a broken wisteria trig caught under the soffit of my carport. It protects him from both wind and rain, an alternative to the clothesline under my back porch awning when the breeze is from a different quarter. The wisteria branch projects out just far enough for the light to catch his brilliant throat feathers, but the background of ugly soffit was more than I could stand. I took a deliberately out-of-focus shot of the dogwood beside the driveway and pasted Red and his twig over it, paring away 90% of the original photo. I think he'll be much happier in this setting until the weather changes.