Oh Come on!!!! For Chrissakes!!! Dont tag me you SOB!

Hmmm....that wasn't me saying it....that was a hummingbird. Yup, you heard that right...I'm not blinking now, am I? :-)

Heard on the WRAL news this evening that a migratory hummingbird while flying south stopped for a break and that happened to be the governor's house or something like that....it was shown to be sitting (pretty docilely might I add) in the palms of the first lady of the state. The first lady released it and it flew away to its destination....probably in the West Indies or so.

I believe that the scientists were all over it and even tagged it so it could be studied and its route marked etc,. Apparently they've been doing this for thousandsof these birds...

Now, up until I heard that last statement, I was OK....I mean, the first lady never gets on the news....so good opportunity for some press etc,. I get all that...no issues there...BUT!!!

Let's now talk some simple numbers here...the WEIGHT of the "tag" that the scientists put on the leg of the hummingbird was...well, lets say 1 gram. that's not too much is it? Well, if you consider that most species of humming birds that are out there weigh between 3 and 4 grams, that's 25 to 33 % of their body weight EXTRA that they're carrying...what would you say if you were the hummingbird? :-)

Scientists also pointed out that a large percentage of hummingbirds dont live beyond the first year. A small percentage live their full life of 3 years...I wonder why?
a. Scientists TAG them poor things, so they have to lug around all that extra weight.
b. With a total weight of 3 grams, I'm sure there is a severe aerodynamic drag/shift on the flights - to the point that if they set the course towards the Caribbean, they end up in California!

Just by chance, if the species "tagged" turned out to be the "bee hummingbird" - that little guy weighs 1.8 grams....I think he would resign himself to fate, just refuse to fly and stab himself with his beak! :-)

Some more interesting facts while I was researching this topic...

1. They flap their wings (typically) at the rate of 55 beats per second....during courtship dives, have been recorded at upto 80 bps!
2. Heart rate for a blue-throated hummingbird has been clocked at 1250 beats per minute!!! and the resting heart rate is about 250 per minute. Torpid (sort of hibernating) birds clock between 50 and 180 bpm....talk about a well-oiled engine!
3. They normally eat their body weight every day.....nectar, sugar syrups and small insects for protein!

Hmmm......it's things like this that makes me believe that there is God! Such a creation can not be an accident...

11:40 pm and it's time to go to bed...this God's creation is too damn tired to type.....I'm not sure if I'll sleep easy....too many thoughts of hummingbirds running (err...flying) around in my head. Adios!