Jewelweed hummer

In 1991, University of Vermont physiological ecologist Bernd Heinrich published In a Patch of Fireweed, a splendid memoir about his life and times in the field. I loved the book, not only because it was beautifully written natural history but also because it rang true to my experiences: in the 1970s, I'd been in a patch of Fireweed that was, like Heinrich's experience, filled with hummingbirds attracted to the flowers. While Fireweed doesn't grow in my neighborhood, we're blessed with lots of Jewelweed, and it too is a hummer magnet. At our two feeders, we're graced with at least several of these amazing birds, so I'm more than familiar with the pint-sized dervishes. But I'm always amazed when I spot them in the wild; somehow, it just seems that they only should be found at feeders. This, of course, is nonsense, and the two or so hummers that routinely work the Jewelweed flowers in the field just above the millpond are not shy about telling me about the error of my perceptions. We did well before you, and we'll be just fine after you, they seem to be saying. Just leave us be with our flowers. And shoot at f/8 at 1/500 sec.