Territorial
He zips in, takes a sip
His long tongue rippling
The sweet drink
Backs up, forward again
Then zip, he’s gone
Should a rival dare to sip
His nectar sweet and fine
He’ll chase the interloper off
He declares: All five feeders are mine!
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Today for Quadrille Monday at dVerse Poets Pub, Mish has given us the word sip to work with. No guzzling or quaffing today. I decided to share a little something about our territorial little friend who guards his stash of nectar fiercely.
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Hummers are such a joy and they are, indeed, territorial. This is a delight.
Thanks.
Oh I’m so glad you paid tribute to those amazing little creatures, though I had no idea they could be so territorial. I like the rhyme you infused with all that zipping and sipping.
Thanks. I don’t know if all varieties are so territorial. I’ve seen video of numerous hummingbird feeding at the same feeder. Maybe it’s a winter survival thing.
Humming Bird
Sips of
Life
STill
REaching
Buzzing Love..:)
Love hummingbirds… alas no such sweetness where I live… the zzz makes me think of the buzz of its wings.
Their wings can buzz pretty loudly. They also make a cute chirping noise I never realized until my husband started keeping up with the feeders and we got more hanging out in our yard.
I used to love watching hummingbirds chase each other growing up, it’s like watch sword fighting!
I always feel sorry for the ones getting chased off. There’s plenty of nectar for all, but that one greedy little guy just won’t share. We finally moved one feeder to the front yard where he can’t see it. But they are fun to watch.
What a rascal!
Ah yes Linda, the beautiful, territorial hummingbird… very cool! 😃
Thanks. This little guy is pretty bossy and quite beautiful.
Here crows and jays bully the hummingbirds; cool we both wrote of our feeders.
They are little but they’re mighty. Scarcely larger than your thumb, they are fearless. I love to watch them!
I hadn’t thought of them chasing each other off before.
Oh this is absolutely lovely! ❤️ You rocked the prompt, Linda! 😀
I would love to see humming birds at a feeder. Our birds are a lot drabber, but I get great pleasure from watching them. You really capture the personality of this little chap. Even though you don’t use them as line ends, all those “-ip” words add a lot of zing and movement.
Sounds like quite the tiny (territorial) titan!
Ha ha! Yes he is!
Love the ‘p’ sounds in this (sip, rippling, zip, interloper). Brings to mind that little squirt of nectar that they spit and drip as they leave the feeder.
Very nice use of the prompt. Hummingbirds are really fun to watch… and yes they are very territorial with their nectar.
Can’t wait for the hummingbirds to return!
Ours stayed all winter. This picture is from last week. My husband maintains 6 feeders.
What a delight to see those birds on the feeders. He sure loves his sweet stash.
Yes, he does. And my husband makes sure it’s always fresh.