The Crafty Flicker

I have three hummingbird feeders I keep filled.  Partly to attract hummingbirds.  Partly because I like the gilded flickers that also frequent the feeders.  

Notice the yellow spots on the base of the feeder in the above picture.  Those are the plastic flowers that cover the feeding ports.  Supposedly they serve to attract the hummingbirds.  They also keep the birds from completely emptying the feeder.  Probably not the intent. 

 

I was quite surprised when I took this feeder down to refill it.  Completely, totally, bone dry.  Then I realized all SEVEN of the plastic flowers were missing. 

I admired the cleverness of the flickers, since they are the only birds big enough to remove the flowers.  I figured I would gather up the discarded flowers and reinsert them.  

Nope.  Not a single flower could be found under the hanger stand.  Every single flower had been taken somewhere else.  

Outfoxed by the flickers, I hanged the feeder up with its flowerless holes and told them to help themselves.  

Hummingbird ballet

The other day I was eating lunch out on the patio.  The hummingbird feeder is 9 feet from where I normally sit.

The entire time I was outside, there was an elaborate ballet between two hummingbirds, chasing each other through the yard and the trees.  They swoop in and out of the branches of the trees, never miscalculating the open spaces.   They weave in and out of the patio posts, gracefully avoiding the wind chimes and spinners.

At intervals, one would fly out of the yard and the other would perch in my Palo Verde tree.  The hummingbird from the tree would approach the hummingbird feeder and hover.  It would look around for a moment or two, trying to spy the second hummingbird sneaking up on it.

If the hummingbird hadn't wasted so much time being on lookout, it could have drank its fill.

The absent hummingbird returns and the aerial chase resumes. At one point, they swoop within 3 feet of me, seeming oblivious to my presence.

Suddenly, there are 4 hummingbirds involved, all doing a squeaky chitter and swooping, moving too fast to determine their alliances.

Just as suddenly, two hummingbirds disappear and the two remaining hummingbirds resume their noisy chase.

Marvelous lunch time entertainment.