Photo and Commentary ©2025 by Darren Milam
Wednesday, May 28, 2025
Let’s be very clear, I am not a bird photographer. If you are looking for professional bird images, you will need to review Tuesday installments, from our resident bird expert Robert Howson. Today’s edition is of a bird, but taken from my phone camera, so take that into consideration. I attempted to capture an image of this Anna’s hummingbird that happened to be drinking from a small water fountain approximately 3 feet to my right, while I sat in a chair in our side yard. Talk about the “right place, right time”!
If you know much about this particular species, or have consulted Robert, you will identify this one as a female (unless Robert corrects and says it’s a juvenile). The best way to tell the difference is the male has a very vibrant and distinctive ruby-red colored neck and head. Regardless of the missing red crown, this bird is remarkable. As she hovered just a couple feet from me, she drank from the rising and falling water droplets. Her wings beating so fast, a high-pitched hum was audible, over the splashing water.
Hummingbirds in general are a marvel. Their tiny compact bodies, flying at such incredible speeds around the trees and flowers. You usually hear them, before you see them — they are just that fast. Annas, specifically, have a wingspan of only 5 inches and their wings beat at an alarming rate of 45+ ‘flaps’ a second. Yes, you read that correctly — each second. With that kind of wing speed, how fast do you think this tiny bird gets around? Would you believe over 40 mph? You should, because they can actually reach a top speed of 60 mph!
If you like data, I would implore you to take in those numbers I’ve just listed and mull them around a bit. Just think – size of the bird, wingspan, FPS (flaps per second), and top speed. What words come to mind? Incredible? Miraculous? Astounding? Marvelous? Yes, yes, yes and yes. These words should come to mind when thinking of this amazing creation. God’s amazing creation. to be specific.
I for one, cannot wait to sit with our Creator and have Him explain his design process and hear how much fun He had creating these amazing creatures. Thank you, God, for Your love for all and Your unwavering creativity!