No wind was stirring the dangling shriveled leaves which were falling straight down when their petioles gave up their dry, tenuous grasp on their twigs. There were hummingbirds swarming the feeders just three feet above my head, more than twenty were fighting for one of the spigots, only to be driven away by several rivals. Suddenly it hit me that I was feeling the wind from their collective wings, and unnatural, or rather nature-al breeze.
Without moving, I got out my pocket camera, grateful again for technology that allows recording much of what we see in nature, including videos. After several minutes of filming, I returned to reading in the air-conditioned comfort of a porch swing, enjoying the busy humming of battling birds.
We are seeing hummers all day long now, going through two quarts of sugar water a day. This is a record for us and probably relates to the nearly complete lack of nectar resources in the valley. Trumpet vine is now blooming, one of their only alternatives. Maybe on the other hand they like the chance to compete with their friends in an aerial game. Remember, they have no internet connection and their tiny little cell phones don't get reception in the valley.
Either way I am happy for their company, and for the hummingbird breeze.
