Saturday, July 4, 2009

PREENING OF A HUMMINGBIRD...

My hummingbird displays his grooming techniques. When a bird preens, it is a process in which they groom and care for their feathers.




They use their beak to pick through their feathers...





Removing any debris...






and arrange feathers that are out of place.







The bird will distribute...








a special oil...









that is secreted from a gland...









at the base of its' tail.


This oil helps to keep the birds' feathers healthy and shiny.










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9 comments:

cherry said...

I have missed you and was thrilled to see your posts. What wonderful shots. I wish you lots of luck with your new adventure and hope you are feeling better soon.
hugs, Cherry

Amila Salgado said...

Tastefully presented, Kim. They are such amazingly beautiful birds.

spookydragonfly said...

Hi Cherry...Thank you, this little hummer and I developed quite a relationship. At times he/she(?)would hover at my kitchen window as I washed the dishes. When the feeder was empty, we knew as the hummer would fly to our windows under the covered porch and hover there looking in. Very fortunate that the cats never caught it! Thanks also for the get well wishes...the past two and a half years has been somewhat tough! Hugs back at ya!


Hello Amila...They are pretty little things, and pretty amazing to observe as well. I watched as they hovered in front of me pulling the fuzzy seeds from the cattails...my guess is to use for nesting. This was a first for me to witness. Thanks for your nice comments my friend!

Anne said...

Kim what great captures you were able to get of this humming bird. I love humming birds. I don't see them very often. So when I do, I'm so delighted. There so small and cute. I think there one of my favorite birds. Have a nice week! I'm sure your enjoying the new season in Wishnik Woods.

spookydragonfly said...

Hi Anne...I love the hummingbirds,too. I wonder, do you have a hummingbird feeder? We had hummers before the feeder, once we got the feeder, it seems more appeared. They're fascinating to watch, especially when they have what I call 'the hummer wars'. Two hummers will battle it out in a huge figure eight formation, flying at top speed...you can even hear the wind from this event! Thanks for stopping by Anne, and have a great fall!

Alina said...

One of the most beautiful posts I've seen. Hope you are feeling better!

spookydragonfly said...

Hello Alina...I'm really missing the Hummingbirds now in late November. Towards the end of the summer, one brave hummer would come and sip the nectar as I would photograph a bloom... most of my attempts to capture this weren't the best!
I appreciate your visit and the compliment. I'm hanging in there, thank you for the well wishes. I will attempt to visit you...hopefully I can view your blog. Thanks for stopping by!

Anonymous said...

I love your hummingbirds I was lucky to see one and paint it, we don't have hummingbirds in Australia but we do have a lot of beautiful birds I live in the country to keep posting great nature shot's. Kind regards Brian L Art

spookydragonfly said...

Thank you, Brian!