Friday, June 18, 2021

Hummingbird on Guard

There are two hummingbird feeders on my deck. This little guy has decided one of them is his private feeding station. He spends time watching the feeder from a nearby tree. When another hummer arrives, he takes off like a jet to chase away the competition.


He doesn't seem so protective of the other feeder on the deck. Other hummers can feed there (usually) without being bullied.

Click on images for a better view.


This bird is a male Anna's Hummingbird. This is the only species of hummer that lives in Seattle all year. We have a few other species visit during the summer months.


He constantly scans the area ... head moving back and forth.


It took a while for him to get comfortable with me sitting on the deck with camera in hand. When I first started sitting out there, with the goal of getting some close-ups, he would take off and zoom around the yard. The beautiful red feathers around his neck and head are tough to capture with all their brilliance as the sunlight and his positioning need to be just right.


In the photo above, notice the tiny feet. Hummingbirds, like most birds, have four toes: three toes in the front and one toe, also called the hallux, in the back.


This time he landed on the tree with back toward me.
He still watches all around.

I don't want to leave the impression that this is all-day-behavior. It's actually random how long he will stay on guard.

While we are on hummers, check out a fascinating video on YouTube posted by an old man who placed 16 feeders in his front yard ...



Another bird recently spotted ...

Song Sparrow ... they are in Seattle all year.

Check out more critter photos at Saturday's Critters.  Thanks, Eileen, for hosting!

World's Largest Ship Loading Cranes arrive Seattle

On June 13th the world's largest ship loading cranes arrived
in Seattle. The cranes were manufactured in China.
They are about 360 feet (110 m) high.

The delivery ship is the Zhen Hua 36

The new cranes will operate at Port of Seattle
Terminal 5 which has excellent railway access.

I would love to be there to see how they unload the cranes
from the ship, but the public is not invited.

This diagram shows the reach of the new cranes
as compared to currently used cranes.
The new ones will be able to load/unload
the largest container ships in global service.

June 15th ...
My photo of Zhen Hua 36 snapped while on my walk on
the waterfront trail ... all the way across Elliott Bay.
The Canon SX730 with 40X zoom can capture views
almost like looking through binoculars.
Update June 20th ...

This photo snapped while on my walk, Sunday, June 20.
2 of the 4 cranes delivered by Zhen Hua 36 have been
moved shore side.
Update June 22 ...

This photo snapped while on my walk, Tuesday, June 22.
All 4 of the giant cranes have been moved shore side.
They arrived on the 13th ... all unloaded by end of day June 21.

The Zhen Hua 36 is a Heavy Lift Vessel that was built in 2003 and is sailing under the flag of Liberia.

More ships spotted ... snapped along the waterfront trail walk ...

National Geographic's Sea Lion at Terminal 90.
The lighter blue ship is a servicing vessel named Global Provider.

Read all about Sea Lion


RUTH has arrived at the Grain Terminal

RUTH's home port is Monrovia and
she flys the flag of Liberia.


The flag caught my attention ... it looks like the American
flag yet with just one star and 11 stripes. Yes, it's the flag of Liberia.

Snapped from home ...

RUTH at anchor before moving to Grain Terminal


NOAA Ship Rainier (S 221) survey vessel near Elliott Bay Marina
NOAA Rainier


What I like about this photo:  It gives a good idea of scale.
Sailboats and a fairly large yacht in the foreground
give a good idea of the size of CMA CGM container ship
.

A few miscellaneous captures along recent walks ...

Saw the baby bunny on the trail ahead when
he/she scampered into hiding spot.

It's past its prime but it still fascinates me the way
nature comes up with these designs.

Most of the iris have passed blooming.
This one is a late bloomer.
On a morning after a rainy night.

Just a random spot I happened to glance down.
Actually had to step back a few paces to look again
and snap the photo.


Closing thought ...

“Being able to smell the fresh air and disconnect from the news and your phone—there’s nothing like it.”

     Jason Ward

20 comments:

  1. Awesome photos. I didn't know that I had a huge ship named after me. Does that make me special? Nah, I don't think so. love the hummer shoots. I know how difficult it can be to capture that brilliance of those red feathers. as you know, I enjoy finding beauty in unexpected places, as you do too. I was out doing just that this morning. Have a great day and in case this comment shows up twice, forgive me. I tried commenting from my iPad and wasn't sure it went through.

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  2. The hummer video is quite something! Your photos of the hummer in your yard are gorgeous! Great captures. I always enjoy the vessels you feature too. You have a great vantage point.

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  3. Those hummer pictures are fabulous! And I saw the cranes featured on the news. So they won't let the public see what's going on? Hmmm. Oh, and I love all the other shots. I think I saw something munching on a leaf in the penultimate picture. :-)

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  4. Fantastic shots of the beautiful little Anna hummer.
    Neat to see all those hummers in one spot.
    Thanks for taking the time to figure out all the walking I've done. Didn't realized it added up to be so much!!!

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  5. Hello John
    Many thanks for sharing the hummingbird photographs and the video. I enjoyed them. I thought the bunny photograph was sweet.
    It is so nice to get out and about and enjoy a walk.
    I thought your closing thought excellent.
    “Being able to smell the fresh air and disconnect from the news and your phone—there’s nothing like it.”
    Enjoy the coming weekend.

    All the best Jan

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  6. Humming birds put on a great show. I see a hummer once a year. However when I go some place with hummers I watch them .

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  7. Hello John,
    Your hummingbird photos are amazing, they tiny feet are so cute. I have seen a hummer here guarding his feeder and some plants too. These little birds can seem so fierce. You found a cool hummingbird video. I can only imagine taking care of all those hummingbird feeders, I have two feeders I need to clean and refill. Love the baby bunny, flowers and plants! I also enjoy the views of the ships, those cranes are amazing. Looks like you had a great walk. Thank you for linking up and sharing your post. Take care, have a happy weekend!

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  8. These are lovely. I liked your miscellaneous captures more.

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  9. Hi John :)) What a beautiful baby bunny!! :) I love your hummingbird closeups...and that video WOW! Makes me want to do the same thing! I just recently put up a feeder and we have a lot of visitors, they are such pretty birds. I love all the photos of the ships! :)

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  10. It is so nice. Love to see those birds. hey are so small. we haven't them here in The Netherlands

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  11. I'm always amazed at the ships you show and what they are able to do! WOW! Love the sweet hummers too. Haven't seen any here yet but they are probably around. They are hard to photograph...for most of us!

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  12. Beautiful photos of the hummingbirds! They are entertaining to watch.
    The cranes from China look enormous. What a shame things like that can not ne manufactured here in the US.
    The wildflowers are beautiful as well as the cute baby bunny.

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  13. Love these stunning photos of the hummingbirds!

    Happy Sunday!

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  14. I don't think I'd like to be on that cargo ship with all the cranes- it is a wonder how it can make it across the ocean. Regards. KEV.

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  15. Wow,John. You post such onderful photos of hummers and ships and nature. I wonder why so may freight ships fly under the flag of Liberia. Your closing thought says it all, doesn't it.

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  16. you were able to capture the humming bird majestically dear John :)))

    each shot is captivating and lovely ,he seems quite dominating in first image ,like us humans birds can be of different nature indeed .it reminded me few birds from my native village they behaved exactly like this when mom spread widely grains or bread crumbs before them .
    thank you so much for magnificent photos they just made my day !
    your ships photos are also breathtaking specially the 22nd one taken from home probably amazing!
    i loved flower images as well ,blue is my favorite though .
    more blessings to you and your loved ones my friend!

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  17. Happy Independence day dear John !

    peace ,joy and health!

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  18. Hey dear! Loved your post and allready followed your blog, i want invite you to visit and follow my blog back <3

    www.pimentamaisdoce.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete

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