What’s that chatter?

August in this part of North Carolina is known for being exceedingly hot and excessively humid. But until this week, I didn’t know this sultry month was such a hotbed of avian activity.

I put hummingbird feeders out in March after social media posts declared they were on the way. Shortly after, a male showed up and claimed his territory. We’ve seen a few, here and there, all summer, and I’ve tried to keep the feeders clean and stocked with sugar water.

There’s at least one young male in the bunch.

But this week — holy cow. The in-flight fights that have commenced! Around the flowering pear tree, in front of the porch, ON the porch — in a few instances, a few feet from my face. Migration is coming, and these hungry birds know it.

I now hear them chattering around the front yard before I see them, but see them I do. I wish I were a good enough photographer to capture some of that posturing and scolding, but usually I do well to snap a passable photo of just one of these fast fliers.

zooming in — These guys have been like little stealth bombers this week. Zip in, zip out.

I’ve seen at least one adult male, but have not been able to get a good photo. He prefers the feeder that’s closest to the porch roof.

These tiny ruby-throated hummingbirds won’t be here for much longer. They start migrating south in September. Until then, I plan to enjoy them, chatter and all.