Jaw Dropping Cute

I am no birder.  My eyesight is bad to begin with and I just don't seem to have the knack for bird id.  But I love 'em, and this time of year our garden and neighborhood is thick with chirping, singing, swooshing, wood-pecking, calling, twig-gathering, bug chasing and just plain perching birds.

So I was moving the recycle bin out of my way the other afternoon when I was lucky to notice this wee hummingbird baby perched on a dry twig just inches above the driveway curb.  Jaw Dropping Cute.

While I watched the mother hummer came by a couple times to feed this little one.  Sadly I missed that shot with my camera but I think she (and her baby) are Calypte anna, Anna's hummingbird.

Maybe I'll head up to Tucker Wildlife Sanctuary again and study up.  Or we could attend the Kern Valley Hummingbird Celebration in August (15th Annual!).  It's held in Weldon, in the Kern Valley Preserve, which is billed as "the Hummingbird viewing capital of California".  As an added bonus, Weldon is also dangerously close to the Owens Valley.    

Here's a fun story about that chirping sound you may hear when hummingbirds dive bomb you while you're innocently watering your garden:
Students discovered that chirping sound is actually made by vibrating tail feathers at the bottom of the dive.  Be sure to watch the video!