When you think of strength, you think of something large and physically powerful in relation to the human race. A musclebound weight lifter, a defensive lineman in football, several inanimate objects like large noisy tractors or big trucks that haul tons of stuff exude power and strength. But as we found our way up the bumpy road of the mountain to the Yanacocha Reserve looking for hummingbirds in the wilderness, power and strength were not among the first characteristics that were wanting to jump out to describe these amazingly beautiful and delicate creatures.
But hummingbirds are as strong and powerful as they are delicate and beautiful. Sure we humans can crush a hummingbird easily without effort and that's what makes them so delicate as compared to man. But can any human or animal, or machine - fly up, down, side to side at a speed of 20-30 MPH, swiftly changing directions, taking sharp angles, diving 60 MPH and landing on a dime, or hovering in the air for what seems an eternity - so precisely and intently as the hummingbird.....the answer is a resounding NO. No other machine, no other living thing, no other bird can fly as adroitly and powerfully as ......the hummingbird.
And the hummingbirds' movements are perfectly choreographed, demonstrating a staccato stop and go, to and fro series of motions and patterns determined to place themselves at beaks reach of the nutritious nectar needed for their existence. Their beaks aspirate the fluid with the precision of a research scientist, the head lifts back to swallow while the body retreats backwards in flight to a safe distance allowing time for the nectar to find its way down the digestive pathway of the bird, and to make room for the next swallow and a repeat of the forgoing. The movements are so beautiful and precise - to me they resemble the passionate movements of an international tango, only with unfailing accuracy and reproducibility that humans cannot possibly achieve.
The astonishment of what I witnessed promoted me to search the internet to comprehend how unique the hummingbird truly is, and how it is able to fly so easily and naturally in so many directions. To begin to understand, one must study the nature of its strong pectoral muscles, the relatively large heart and the rotational figure-of-eight movement of its flexible wings that flutter rhythmically creating the music in its movement, and the ability to move in any direction or hover in the air unlike any bird or creature on earth. To be sure, the power and flexibility of the hummingbird makes it a truly unique living creature, something that I witnessed for myself on this very day!
Parenthetically, a city boy by nature, bird watching might have been the last item on my list of things to do before I die - before today. But it was truly an enthralling and mesmerizing experience, proving once again that the secret to living a happy life is to rediscover and redirect oneself to new adventures that you have not previously experienced or considered, rather than to imprison oneself to the confines and self-inflicted comforts of the past.
Finally, while I freely admit to have pilfered many pics from the internet in the past, these latest gems are once again the artistic bi-product of travel companion Frances, who was focused so intensely and intently on shooting 400+ pictures today including the masterpieces below, that a mountain bear could have passed her by without notice. Below is a minor sampling of the product of her labor. My only part was some custodial cropping duties to hone in on today's subject of admiration and awe.
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| Woops, this is no hummingbird! |
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