As owner and self-appointed author of The Hummingbird Happy Hour I would state that I am not an ornithologist and barely qualifiy as a dedicated bird watcher. But I do watch, all the time, and I do have a Western Bird Book. I have captained vessels with many real ornithologists at my side, searching the outer waters for the pelagic birdlife of Monterey Bay. I have shared the ocean with the blue whale, the largest animal and my deck, with the smallest bird. Serious birdwatchers might consider me uneducated and I would agree. I am curious,self-educated and experienced when it comes to hummingbirds, The internet has helped teach me. I recommend anyone interested to Google “hummingbirds”.
Photographing hummingbirds is art better left to experts. If you’ve taken a good photo, you could be that expert, send it to me, I’ll print it. There must be some great shots on a few refrigerator doors around the county.
My “tongue-in-beak”, rather, “tongue-in-cheek”, Hummingbird Chronicles are written to raise the awareness of the beauty that surrounds us, spin a little yarn and to teach a clean, efficient, ecologically sound method of feeding the birds we are blessed with, scientifically researched and focused on allowing the hummingbirds to thrive.
Hummingbirds are a part of our land. As is the rainbow. And the tree frog. I hope to continue reporting on the characters who stop by The Hummingbird Happy Hour. They have names and nicknames given by those friends who know them. Like “Troy”, a tradgic figure of a bird, named for a Jack Terrier who would eat glass if you touched his masters car: or “Arrow”, the most eligible and beautiful hummingbird in the region, or Winken, Blinken and Nod, the young birds who drank too long and were harrassed by bats just before they make it home.
A beautiful message was brought by a teacher from the first grade in Watsonville. She shared a Native American legend about the joy the hummingbird brings to our lives.
There is not one person in the world who does not love the hummingbird. People who don’t have hummingbirds, love hummingbirds. Hawaii doesn’t have them. Asia has none. Africa, no. Europe had them, but they left via Alaska, 8 million years ago…… for the New World.
There are birds in San Jose, Greenfield, Bitterwater, Big Sur, Watsonville, Pebble Beach, Hollister, Paso Robles, Santa Cruz and Aromas. There are 338 species in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres of the Americas.
We are just plain lucky to have so many birds in San Juan Bautista, the gateway to the Pinnacles National Park, on the Road of Kings, an attraction unbeatable on the coast of California, and that includes “The Trees of Mystery”.
There is no person you know who does not lovethe hummingbird. Not a grandparent, or grandchild, not a soldier, not a farm worker, no lovers, no parents, no tourists, no sailor. Cats even like them, but I am not sure the sentiment is shared.
I did meet a man, once, who asked for safety glasses after a hummer hovered in front of his nose, but he relaxed after a cocktail.
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