Subject: Birth of a Hummingbird
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tHOm6k1JH-c&feature=youtube_gdata_player
Something I have never seen before, nor ever even heard of. This lady
lives in a Hummingbird fly zone. As they migrated, about 20 of them
were in her yard. Just for a lark, she took the little red dish and
filled it with sugar water and these are the results.
(Photographed 2006 Sam & Abigail Alfano)
Most of us see hummingbirds as shy, skittish little creatures that dart
away if they so much as think someone is looking at them, so the idea
that (as pictured above) these tiny birds would willingly come to land
and feed on a person's hand seems rather remarkable. However, training
hummingbirds to hand-feed is not as difficult as one might think and
can be accomplished with the right approach and a bit of patience.
The images displayed here were taken from the gallery of photographer
Sam Alfano of Pine, Louisiana, who snapped pictures of his wife Abigail
feeding hummingbirds in September 2006. As Mrs. Alfano told us:
I am Abigail Alfano, Sam's wife, the lady in the photos. Thank you for
your interest. We are amazed by how much attention these photos have
recieved. If I had any idea that they would have circulated all over
the world like they have, I would have worn make-up that morning!!!!
:-)
Due to the tremendous popularity these pictures achieved after they
were circulated (without attribution) via e-mail, Abigail put up a web
page identifying herself as the "Hummingbird Lady" and providing
her and her husband's explanations of the photos' origins and spread
across the Internet:
I am Abigail Alfano, the woman in the photos. My husband, Sam is the
photographer. We live in Pine, Louisiana which is approximately 1 1/2
hours north of New Orleans.This year we had more hummingbirds in our
yard than I ever recall. The feeder sits right outside of my window
where I drink my morning coffee. I remember watching the birds one morning
and telling my husband that I wish I could just hold one! We decided
to give it a shot.
Over the course of several days, I would simply stand beside the feeder
so that they would get used to my presence. Then, I began putting my
hands around the feeder so that in order to drink they had to land on
my fingers. I was amazed at how quickly they were willing to do this.
The next step was to remove the feeder and place a small red cap on
an old milk can in the same area. They eventually found the small replacement
and began feeding. The morning the photos were taken, I simply went
outside and filled the cap with the sugar water, placed it in the palm
of my hand, and sat very very still. Within ten minutes, they were resting
in my hands, drinking. It was sheer delight for me! I was even able
to move my hands around a bit with the birds on my fingers. They are
light as a feather ... and simply beautiful. I can't wait until next
year.
On September 14, 2006 my wife Abigail decided she'd like to 'touch'
one of the 20 or30 hummingbirds that were swarming around our feeder
at the peak of their migration. With patience and determination she
accomplished her goal. I am her husband Sam, and I shot the photos of
her hand-feeding hummingbirds in our yard here in near Franklinton,
Louisiana.
On September 20th the [Franklinton] Era Leader newspaper published the
photos on the front page. We then emailed them to a few of our friends
and had no idea they would quickly be forwarded around the world. Many
of our friends have called or emailed us saying they were forwarded
photos of a lady feeding hummingbirds, and it was Abigail! Had I known
the photos would spread like wildfire, I would have put our names on
them.
Unfortunately, as the Alfanos noted, someone else used one of these
images to win a weekly photo contest held by TV station WTVQ in Lexington,
Kentucky, submitting the photo and falsely claiming that she was the
woman whose hands were pictured therein.
MORE NATURE/WILDLIFE LINKS...
Butterflies In Your Playground
https://www.playgroundequipment.com/butterflies-in-your-playground/
Monarch Butterfly Site: Life Cycle, Migration and Pictures.
http://www.monarch-butterfly.com/
Lifecycle of the Monarch
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7AUeM8MbaIk&feature=youtube_gdata_player
Transparent butterfly
http://msgboard.snopes.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=60;t=001471;p=0
The Miracle of Birth
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SjGmV9FnYlQ&feature=youtube_gdata_player
Amazing Northern Lights Time Lapse
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FcfWsj9OnsI&feature=youtube_gdata_player
Humpback Whales Breaching
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8HoZ4q1mkRY&feature=youtube_gdata_player
Awesome Whales Music Video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z81k6u7pc4Y&feature=youtube_gdata_player
Humpback Whale: Hunting Technique
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJvfjiCTvq4&feature=youtube_gdata_player
Saved Whale Says Thanks
http://www.snopes.com/critters/crusader/whalethanks.asp
Leatherback Turtles in French Guiana (Dermochelys coriacea)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cO_TBZgm1zY&feature=youtube_gdata_player
Li River Fishing Cormorants
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TKWNx0WlSQE&feature=youtube_gdata_player
Cormorant Fishing in Japan on Nagara river.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WEMr1l2qtQ8&feature=youtube_gdata_player
Northern Mockingbird Sings, the great imitator.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CMpe34Aign4&feature=youtube_gdata_player
High-Velocity Peregrine Falcon, clocked at 242 MPH
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j3mTPEuFcWk&feature=youtube_gdata_player
Konrad Lorenz Experiment with Geese
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2UIU9XH-mUI&feature=youtube_gdata_player
Whooping Crane Imprinting, and use of ultra lights.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=omkUmHSygno&feature=youtube_gdata_player
The Senior Elephants have their own retirement community in Tennessee.
Check out this video on YouTube: The Animal Odd Couple
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1seKlrtZQuQ&feature=youtube_gdata_player
A photographer in Antarctica and his underwater experience with a seal
who tried to care for him apparently thinking he was in trouble
because it had never seen a human diver before. Very touching.
Face-Off With a Deadly Predator
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zxa6P73Awcg&feature=youtube_gdata_player
Man Wrestles Crocodile
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gYj-8EmmVj0&feature=youtube_gdata_player
Dog versus Deer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GnZSTkycovg&feature=youtube_gdata_player
Built For The Kill - Grassland - The Secretary Bird
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJKBPyavWlI&feature=youtube_gdata_player
The Komodo Dragon Kills With One Bite, a buffalo bigger than itself.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q7CQInAXoqY&feature=youtube_gdata_player