A Nagging Hummingbird

Source: Juditu, Morguefile

Did you know that hummingbirds can nag you? They can. Each spring, I change over the bird seed feeder to the hummingbird feeder on the trellis in the garden. This winter, the very fat and crafty squirrel had learned to tip, tilt, and grab the feeder to gather as many seeds as he could. The very first day I switched out the seed feeder for the hummingbird feeder, Mr. Squirrel angrily tipped the hummingbird feeder over until all the liquid ran out.  We weren’t sure at first what had happened, although based on a few sightings we thought he might be the culprit. Just in case the feeder was leaking, I filled it with plain water and hung it back in place to observe the water level for 48 hours. If there was a leak, I’d see it. If it was Mr. Squirrel, the plain water should discourage him too.

The trouble is, the hummingbirds had other ideas. My office is in a tower on the second floor of our modern Victorian-style home. My desk is tucked under a big bay window and overlooks the garden. I rose at dawn and began working on my book manuscript, putting in a solid two hours before switching over to client projects around 8 a.m.  But every time I began to work, a blur and whirr caught my attention.

The hummingbird was at the window.

He hovered, a green jewel, then zoomed to the feeder, dipping his beak quickly at the yellow ports and then zooming back into the woods. The first time it happened I thought, “How cute” and went back to work.

On his second pass, he went by the open window and hovered, looking right at me. Then he flew back to the feeder, circled it a few times, and disappeared into the woods.

I felt the hairs rise on the back of my neck. Perhaps it was a coincidence. But why would the bird look right at me? How did he know??

I immediately left my desk, filled the feeder, and returned to work. I haven’t seen him since.