The towhees have a nest in the dead arborvitae, along with at least one other unidentified bird pair. I glanced up as a towhee flew out of the bush, and right behind it was a hummingbird, which landed somewhere in the bougainvillea. Just out of fun, I called out ‘Sparky! Sparky!’

Thank goodness I work alone, as this may seem like demented behavior. But I used to talk to Sparky all the time as he visited the feeder. There’s a goodly amount of footage of him looking directly at the camera as I’m saying his name.

The hummingbird came to the tomato cage about 18″ from the feeder, and looked at me. The cage is what I hang the feeder on when there isn’t enough light under the overhang where the feeder normally is. He had the bright red throat, so I knew it wasn’t a juvenile or the missus. Then he was gone.

Could it be? Does he actually help feed them, and that’s where he’s been the last 2-1/2, almost three weeks?

Yesterday, I saw two hummers high up in the oaks going through what appeared to be a mating dance. I don’t think juveniles can fly that well. We’ll see what the following days bring.