Last week I was sitting on the deck in early evening. I heard a hummingbird chirping in the beech tree.

There she was, sitting on a branch in between beautifully lit pinkish leaves. She was backlit too.

It seemed as if she had just finished dinner and was sitting, fat and content, in the evening sun.

She spent a lot of time itching her head…

…and staring around, up and down and over there.

She fluffed her feathers and left them wide open in the warming sun.

Her tongue came and went. I wasn’t sure if she was catching insects…

…or just practicing tongue aerobics.

She peed four times while she was there. I guess that sugar water goes right through a girl.

And after perhaps 20 minutes of sitting and enjoying the evening light she took off.

I enjoyed watching her, and took over 300 images. She’s still flitting around the feeder but I expect she’ll be gone soon. I hope I get to visit with her once more before she goes.
September 13, 2026 at 3:54 pm
What a sweet interlude, Dawn. Thanks for sharing her special visit with us. 😍
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September 16, 2026 at 10:28 am
You are so welcome. She provided plenty of entertainment!
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September 13, 2026 at 3:55 pm
Love love your photos. You’ve actually captured the flick of the tongue and the pee – amazing! I’ve been very lax about filling the hummingbird feeder this summer, but finally got to it yesterday. Just waiting for the hummers to find it again – we have some that stay all winter – they might be Anna’s, I’m not sure. It’s hard to get a really close view of them.
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September 16, 2026 at 10:29 am
I took over 300 photos to get that tongue and pee! 🙂 I’m glad your hummer(s) is back!
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September 13, 2026 at 3:58 pm
I love when hummers perch and preen (and pee, LOL)! Excellent photo essay of their charming ways!
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September 16, 2026 at 10:29 am
She stayed up there so long, it was fun watching her.
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September 13, 2026 at 4:38 pm
Lovely pictures and story!
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September 16, 2026 at 10:29 am
Me too!
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September 13, 2026 at 6:27 pm
The one hummingbird I had a few years ago, never stayed long enough to get more than a fleeting glance at her and a not-so-great picture. Was that a fine spider web over her head? Maybe she ran into it? I know what I do when I run into a spider web outside … claw the air a lot. These were great pictures Dawn and I laughed at her overactive bladder from loading up on sugar water. 🙂
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September 16, 2026 at 10:30 am
Yes that is a spider web above her. And it’s possible. She scratched her head a lot.
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September 16, 2026 at 3:50 pm
All that sticky web on those feathers would be miserable.
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September 13, 2026 at 6:32 pm
Stunning pictures!
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September 16, 2026 at 10:30 am
Thank you!
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September 13, 2026 at 8:43 pm
Wonderful photos! I saw a hummingbird feeding at my lantana this morning. Always a treat to see them.
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September 16, 2026 at 10:31 am
Definitely a treat! I am enjoying them so much now. They are getting ready to leave, perhaps this week, perhaps next. I feel like a mom sending her kid off to college. Sad. Yesterday there were 4 of them eating from the feeder. For once they weren’t fighting each other!
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September 14, 2026 at 6:56 am
What a nice way to spend an early evening!
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September 16, 2026 at 10:32 am
Very definitely a beautiful way to spend the evening!
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September 14, 2026 at 9:15 am
What a beautiful selection of images. Lovely.
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September 16, 2026 at 10:32 am
Thank you!
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September 14, 2026 at 2:19 pm
Pretty cool shots. I love hummingbirds.
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September 16, 2026 at 10:33 am
Me too. I’ve been sitting in my chair next to the window where their feeder is watching them fuel up to leave me. I will miss them!
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September 16, 2026 at 1:25 pm
They migrate out of your area? I had to double-check but some breeds migrate through our desert and others are here all year. It’s always fun to see the different ones.
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September 15, 2026 at 11:55 pm
Superb. Photos 7 and 8, where her tongue is out … that’s one long tongue! Looking for hummingbird food. Oops, then photo 9, the result of ingestion … hmm.
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September 16, 2026 at 10:34 am
She was adorable. I’m not sure what she was doing with the tongue. I thought maybe catching bugs? But I didn’t see any bugs. Maybe that’s just a way to clean her tongue off? I have no idea. But it was cool that the sun caught it so I could too.
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September 16, 2026 at 4:55 am
Very cool series!
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September 16, 2026 at 10:35 am
Thank you. It was so nice to sit out on the deck and watch her. She even let me go into the house for the camera. She sat there a long time until the dog decided something needed barking at. Yesterday there were four fighting over the feeder. I will miss them when they leave.
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September 16, 2026 at 6:15 am
These are wonderful! I literally laughed out loud when I came to the one of her looking up- what a great capture and a surprise!
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September 16, 2026 at 10:36 am
Wasn’t that cool? It’s like they have a swivel head or something.
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September 18, 2026 at 5:55 am
What a wonderful collection of photos! Amazing that she sat there for so long and you were able to get all these shots, and the back lighting looks beautiful too.
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September 18, 2026 at 6:49 am
it was a beautiful evening. And she was very cooperative.
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