The Attachment

     Some people may not understand the attachment that us "hummingbirders" have to these tiny little creatures. When they first start to show up in our garden, they have an innocence about them. They are naive to danger, and they flit and flutter almost clumsily through the flowers. They are baby like in much of their behavior and actions. They make us smile, and it doesn't take long before we claim them as our own. They become recognizable by certain traits and behaviors that are different from all the others. We name them as we do our pets. But they  quickly mature, and within days they can leave with little warning. There is a void created in us when they don't return to our garden, but it's far worse when you see them rise up into the sky, watch them gradually disappear, and head to a place they've never known. We raise them like our own, care for them with special treatment, and then they leave, many of which will never return. It's extremely rewarding to watch a successful year come to fruition, but deeply sorrowful to watch them leave, only knowing this is what they're meant to do. 
     This youngster would show up multiple times throughout the day to feed from this Vermillionaire, and then go to the training feeder which he learned quickly. Juvenile male Ruby-throat hummingbird. N.E. of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. 

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