Say What?

​     There comes a point when you just have so many pictures that you try to catch hummingbirds in awkward or unusual positions. There's only so many photos you can take before many start looking like the others. So while these youngsters just sat in the plants, I tried to capture them every time they would preen. 
     Even though hummingbirds weren't built to walk, they do have strength in their legs. They use their legs in combat, shuffling along branches or around a feeder, and holding onto their perch when wild winds toss them around. Those are mighty little muscles that grip for hours through the most violent storms. Just imagine while the branches are being tossed about, they can grip tightly and balance their body. In comparison to other birds or animals, they have legs built for power. This was all planned out in the design of nature, for their survival. Larger birds with a greater mass are not affected as much when standing in the wind, but the smaller you go with birds and even insects, the mightier their legs and wings are. 
     Their legs may look tiny and fragile, but in relation to their body, they have powerful little pipes. 
     Here is a series of pic's that I took of young Ruby-throat hummingbirds while they cleaned and scratched. August 2018. N.E. of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. 

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